Travel with the A.I. robot Sota to some of the world’s conflict zones, follow a Russian geophysicist’s quest to recreate the ecosystems of the last ice age through radical rewilding, and get behind the facade of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. CPH:DOX is ready with this year’s Science programme, which takes a close look at technology, science and public health.

Science films that let us understand the most mind-bending, modern research are an essential part of CPH:DOX – from the competitions to the festival’s dedicated Science section which is announced today.

This year, CPH:DOX presents a big Science film and debate section dedicated to research and science. The programme contains 15 international film titles parallel to the science related films across the competitions, which are announced on March 1. During the festival, the films in the Science programme will be put into perspective by top researchers, a number of Denmark’s leading experts, filmmakers and members of CPH:DOX’s own Youth Team.

The science perspective is also on the agenda in CPH:DOX’s opening film ‘INTO THE ICE’ that follows three of the world’s leading glaciologists into some of the most ferocious and extreme landscapes on earth in their attempt to understand the consequences of climate change. The film will premiere on March 21 in Copenhagen.

“Science and its role in our society constitute a central focus point for CPH:DOX. We have emphasized this with the choice of this year’s opening film – the Danish film ‘INTO THE ICE’, which at its core is a film about the importance of research. At the same time, we are proud to present a Science programme that speaks directly into the most important agendas in the current public debate. This includes the climate and biodiversity crisis, the management of the corona crisis, mass surveillance and the escalating use of artificial intelligence,” says Niklas Engstrøm, Artistic Director at CPH:DOX.

Alternative solutions to current crises
Major topics will be explored in this year’s Science programme. Do we solve the climate crisis by recreating eco systems from the last ice age? This is examined in ‘Pleistocene Park’, while ‘Going Circular’ urges us to rethink the entire economic system by respecting the planet’s limited resources.

‘Healers’ and ‘How to Survive a Pandemic’ encourage us to take a new look at global health paradigms, also in the light of the current pandemic, while ‘A.I. at War’ and ‘Unseen Skies’ come up with different suggestions on how to resist state surveillance and algorithms.

CPH:DOX’s Science programme is supported by The Danish Society of Engineers, the National Museum of Denmark, The Lundbeck Foundation, the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School.

The full programme for CPH:DOX 2022 will be announced on March 1, 2022.

See the list of films in CPH:SCIENCE below.

CPH:SCIENCE

After Nature (Esther Elmholt, Denmark, World Premiere)
Four prominent Danish scientists and an artist struggle in their own way to mitigate the man-made mass extinction and understand how humanity’s pursuit of wealth might lead to an ecological collapse.

A.I. at War (Florent Marcie, France / Iraq / Syria / Malaysia)
What can artificial intelligence tell us about the darkest side of humanity? A philosophical and paradoxical human adventure with a robot as travel companion, and with light in the darkness.

How to Survive a Pandemic (David France, USA)
Acclaimed filmmaker David France documents the incredible story of the world’s biggest health science project: the rollout of the corona vaccine. A story we have only just begun to learn from.

Carbon – The Unauthorised Biography (Daniella Ortega & Niobe Thompson, Australia / Canada, International Premiere)
The spectacular and surprisingly unorthodox biography of Carbon, the most misunderstood element on Earth.

Going Circular (Richard Dale, The Netherlands)
Today’s economic, social, and climate crises force us to rethink global paradigms by respecting the planet’s limited resources. Four groundbreaking thinkers point out that the solutions to a circular social structure are already existing in nature.

Healers (Marie-Eve Hildbrand, Switzerland)
A thought-provoking film about the relationship between doctors and their patients that also takes a peek at the latest trends in alternative medicine. Dr. Hildbrand, the director’s own father, is approaching retirement, while a group of medical students are making their own experiences.

The Invisible Extinction (Steven Lawrence & Sarah Schenck, USA, World Premiere)
The extinction of healthy bacteria in our bodies could escalate a new global health crisis. The good news: the field’s top two scientists are on the case, examining the impact microbiomes have on our wellbeing.

The North Drift (Steffen Krones, Germany, World Premiere)
A message in a bottle from Dresden brings news of incredible ocean currents and plastic debris in the world’s vast floating ecosystems. An idealistic and pictorial adventure film with excess and a serious agenda.

People We Come Across (Mia Halme, Finland)
700 Finnish tourists travel to Benin to take part in a vaccine trial in an understatedly funny film with a warm eye for human flaws and the tension between good intentions and harmful effects.

Pleistocene Park (Luke Griswold-Tergis, USA)
Genius or madman? The adventure film of the year takes us on a bumpy journey to the Siberian steppes, where a Russian geophysicist wants to restore the ecosystems of the Ice Age through radical rewilding.

The Quintessence (Pamela Breda, United Kingdom / France / Switzerland / USA / Italy)
Philosophical free-style with some of the world’s sharpest astrophysicists, who let us in on their personal thoughts and dreams about the most fundamental – and most abstract – mysteries of the universe.

Unseen Skies (Yaara Bou Melhem, USA / Australia)
American artist Trevor Paglen uses the most advanced technology to map surveillance, data flows and the state’s monitoring of our lives. Now he is about to launch the most ambitious project of his career.

Microbiome (Stavros Petropoulos, Greece) +  Planktonium (Jan van IJken, Holland) + The Two Faces of Tomorrow (Patrick Hough, Ireland / Great Britain, International Premiere)
Three visual and thought-provoking short films about microbes, plankton and algae. A microscopic and microcosmic study of the relationship between human and non-human life forms.