Out of This World

Steve Elkins | 2020 | United States

Steve Elkin’s mosaic of interwoven journeys of six explorers quests to achieve a counterbalance in life. This programme includes the 'Reimaginging Landscapes' panel.

Ralo Mayer | 2018 | Austria

Austria’s Ralo Mayer explores the intersection of cinema, technology, space, and ecology in this irreverent yet unsettling film essay.

Liz Marshall | 2020 | Canada

Centering on Dr Uma Valeti and his fellow pioneering food scientists, this documentary follows their journey to transform an $18,000 experimental cell-based meatball into a viable replacement for factory farming.

Alê Abreu | 2013 | Brazil

In this charming animated feature, young boy Cuca's life is turned upside down, as he leaves his small village on an adventurous quest to look for his father and finds himself in a wondrous modern world dominated by animal-machines and strange beings.

Olivier Babinet | 2019 | France

In a not-too-distant future France, scientist Daniel and stork clerk Lucie discover a mysterious fish-like creature who may just hold the solution to Earth's ecological problems. This quirky Sci-Fi Rom-Com is sure to both warm your heart and make you think.

Benjamin Tiven | 2018 | United States, Sweden

This experimental film follows the work of two scientists who test a new device that uses specialized circuitry to transfer data between computer networks and living plants. Available with Extra-Terrestrial Ecologies (Retroflectors: the astronaut, the robot, the alien).

Minna Långström | 2019 | Finland

In this philosophical journey into the world of Mars science, NASA experts share how the Curiosity Rover's images of Mars are captured, used and manipulated. With stunning shots of Mars' landscapes, this documentary offers a truly unique environmental experience.

Living in the modern world, we have become disconnected from the basic processes that support our lives, as well as the beautiful fundamentals of science that enable us to relearn things for ourselves. This keynote, inspired by Prof Lewis Dartnell’s book The Knowledge, is a grand thought experiment on the behind-the-scenes systems of how our world works and what drove the progression of the world as we know it over the centuries.

Following our Opening Night event, join us for a Q&A with Dr Lewis Dartnell and Alanta Colley.

Pop your questions in the chat and let's dig in!

Panelists Ralo Mayer, Tyson Yunkaporta and PLUGINHuman deliver three mini lectures about how we might interpret ‘alien perspectives’ when thinking about ecology – and how the space-ecology complex reveals new perspectives on issues of the Anthropocene.

Director Liz Marshall (Meat the Future, The Ghost In Our Machine, Water on Our Table) gives us an insight into the craft of creating ‘consciousness-raising’ cinema - films that unveil the ideas of tomorrow. We will get into the nuts-and-bolts of her filmmaking process and look to the future of documentary production.

The High Commission of Canada is proud to bring you this Masterclass event!

Join our panelists J.J. Hastings, Angelo Vermeulen and Janet Biggs, alongside moderator Adam Grodeck for a very special live Closing Night event.

This compelling conversation will take cues from Spaceship Earth (2020) and Biosphere 2, bringing together leaders from the realms of art and science.

This event is supported by Science Gallery Melbourne.

Reimagining Landscapes invites you to explore the known and unknown in the world that lies ahead. Through conversations about climate management, Aboriginal knowledge systems, astronomy, space technology and fire, how can we use what we know now to conceive of and inform alternative future worlds?

Panellists Karlie Noon, Richard Geddes and James Bradley join Moderator Professor Tamara Davis in this hour-long live discussion examining how Indigenous knowledge, emerging technologies and creative perspectives are paramount in instructing what lies ahead.

This event is presented in partnership with Bush Heritage Australia.

This year has taught us so much about our connections to food, farms and neighbours. And we’re still learning as we go. Many of us have discovered a love for local produce and home cooking during the COVID-19 lockdowns. So we’re curious to know: what do you think our post-COVID-19 food system should look like?

In this hour-long live streamed panel, we're joined by Nornie Bero (Mabu Mabu), Erica Hughes (Farmer Meets Foodie) and Tish King (SEED) who will be discussing the intersecting issues of food citizenship, native foods, the impacts of COVID-19 and food system transformation.

This event is supported by SEED.

Liz Marshall, Director of Meat the Future, joins industry experts David Kay (Memphis Meats), Bianca Le (Cellular Agriculture Australia) and Thomas King (Food Frontier), alongside moderator Prof Robyn Warner, in this enlightening exploration of the technology, attitudes, and debates surrounding 'clean meat'.

This discussion takes a deep dive into 'cell-based meat' - once considered science-fiction - at the intersection of food and technology, and what it means for our future and for us as consumers.

We are delighted to welcome you aboard Spaceship Earth with an exclusive 10-minute introduction from Angelo Vermeulen. Vermeulen is a space researcher, biosystems engineer, futurist and artist.

Taking inspiration from his own experiences and linking back to 1991 BIOSPHERE 2, Angelo will give us an insight into the psychological toll of living in shared isolation, as well as the complexities of ecological life-support systems and closed-loop ecosystems. We will hear about the bizarre beginnings of the BIOSPHERE 2 experiment, and Angelo’s own reflection on the role theatre and performing arts play in inspiring experiments on the intersection of science, technology and art.