This weekend (5th to 8th November) saw Ireland’s first Science Film Festival, Science on Screen, taking place. The ‘Science on Screen Film Festival’ showcased the best of science in film, and this year incorporated themes of representation and diversity in science, public trust in science and the value of art-science collaborations.
Featuring on the programme were several Galway-based neuroscience films, some of which were made as part of the Science on Screen scheme. These included “Feats of Modest Valour” featuring the Parkinson’s research by Eilís Dowd and her team; “A Tiny Spark” featuring the stroke research being carried out by Karen Doyle and her team; as well as “The Patient Effect” which tells the story of Public and Patient Involvement in Research.
The programme also featured short film submissions from around the world from which the Galway neuroscience film, “Mood Atlas” was awarded the Inaugural Best Short Film Award. Mood Atlas tells the story of Shane Hickey, a young man living with bipolar disorder, and the neuroimaging research being carried out by Dara Cannon and her research team on trying to understand this disorder.
The festival was hosted by CÚRAM, the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices based in NUI Galway, and the Galway Film Centre, who together established the successful Science on Screen scheme in 2016.