Our Science on Screen® series takes to the cerebrality of mathematics, as Darren Aronofsky's feature debut Pi celebrates its 25th anniversary. And as an added bonus, the screening will be followed by a presentation and discussion via Zoom by Dr. Jacob Barandes, Co-Director of Graduate Studies for Physics and Lecturer on Physics at Harvard University. The event and Q&A will be moderated by Chapman University lecturer and Frida Cinema board member Atalia Lopez!
Max (Sean Gullette) is a reclusive number theorist who has been able to conclude that everything within nature can be deduced to numbers and further understood through them. When Max's computer crashes, and in doing so prints out a random 216-digit number that he initially discards, he becomes subject to phenomena surrounding the number. Soon, Max is bombarded by Wall Street agents who are desperate to take the number off his hands, in which its possibly godlike implications threaten to push Max over the edge of paranoia.
Filmed in 16mm black-and-white reversal film, Aronofsky's feature debut is a breathlessly tense and ruthlessly surreal calling card for his provocative, thought-provoking filmmaking.
ABOUT SCIENCE ON SCREEN
The Coolidge Corner Theatre's Science on Screen series has enhanced film and scientific literacy with this popular program, which launched at the Coolidge in 2005. In partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and its pioneering nationwide film program, the Coolidge has expanded Science on Screen to 96 cinemas nationwide. Throughout the academic year, SoS creatively pairs screenings of classic, cult, science fiction, and documentary films with lively presentations by notable experts from the world of science and technology. Each film is used as a jumping-off point for a speaker to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages popular culture audiences.
ABOUT DR. JACOB BARANDES
Jacob does research at the intersection of physics and philosophy. Broadly speaking, his work has two sides: “philosophical physics,” which involves using the methodological tools of philosophy to make progress on open problems in physics, and “physical philosophy,” which involves examining what our most successful physical theories tell us about traditional questions in philosophy.
His main areas of study include the foundations of quantum mechanics, the classical limit, field theory, general relativity, thermodynamics, and formal methods in mathematical physics. He is also interested in the philosophy of probability, the philosophy of time, the philosophy of mind, the history of physics, and logic.
He founded and organizes the Foundations of Physics at Harvard seminar and workshop series, which is co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy.
He completed his PhD in the Department of Physics at Harvard University, where he currently serves as Lecturer and Co-Director of Graduate Studies. He is also an Associated Faculty Member with the Department of Philosophy and a Faculty Affiliate with the Harvard Black Hole Initiative.
We are OC’s year-round film festival.
