Grab your lab partner and get those cameras rolling because the 2011 Imagine Science Film Festival is just a few months away. We are interested in your short or feature length film that weaves elements of real science into a fictional narrative. Diversity is just as important in biology as it is in our selection of films. Although documentaries are welcome, we encourage dramas, comedies, mysteries and art house films that touch base with a scientific fact or theory. Filmmakers from all backgrounds are encouraged to participate. To give you an idea, last year we screened everything from Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno to a short film directed by a monkey. Open submissions begins May 1^st and ends August 15. For rules and eligibility requirements please visit http://imaginesciencefilms.com/festival/submit/ . If your film is selected it will be screened at one of the venues throughout the tri-state during the fourth annual Imagine Science Film Festival during the week of October 15-22.

We have traditionally awarded two awards during the festival, however this year are excited to announce the addition of two new awards bringing the total number of awards to four. The first of our new awards is a $1000 The Scientist Award, given to the best film made by a scientist. This award is sponsored by AAAS Science Magazine.  Our second new award is a $500 Public High School Award, awarded to the best film by a high school student.  This award is sponsored by Hollywood Math & Science Film Consulting.

In addition to these two exciting new awards our two awards traditional awards will be distributed to two of the best short films.  A $2,500 Nature Scientific Merit Award will be given to the best short film incorporating science in its narrative. This award is sponsored by The Nature Publishing Group.  Audience members will decide the winner of our final award by voting for their favorite short film throughout the film festival.  The winner will receive the $1,000 Nature Audience Award.  This award is sponsored by The Nature Publishing Group.

Founded by Alexis Gambis in 2008, Imagine Science Films (ISF) is a non-profit organization that aims to make science accessible to non-scientists though creative storytelling and moving image. In 2010, 500 submissions were reviewed and 40 were selected. A selection of 36 short films and four feature length films screened at different venues in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens over the course of eight days. The pool of films represented about 15 different countries. Over 4,000 people attended.

This year we are pleased to announce the festival will kick off on October 15 at Museum of the Moving Image, and conclude on October 25 at Symphony Space. Previous venues we have utilized include: Tribeca Cinemas, City University of New York Graduate Center, Bell House, Union Hall, indieScreen Cinema, Rockefeller University, New York University, New School, New York Hall of Science and New York Academy of Science, to name a few.

Imagine Science Films is made possible by volunteer staff as well as AAAS Science, Nature Publishing Group, DCTV, Vimeo, CFI, Museum of the Moving Image, New Scientist, New York Academy of Sciences and the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting.