Blogs

Prof Chris Rapley CBE may not be a name you’re familiar with, but he provided expert support to Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore in the UK. In this exclusive event, we heard from Chris as he presented the film An Inconvenient Truth and looked at new data which ... Continue Reading »

When it comes to attracting young people into a life in science, we have to think very carefully about the images we put forward. This could not have been more boldly illustrated than by the recent disastrous campaign by the European Union to attract young girls into science courses and ... Continue Reading »

Do you love films? And science? SCINEMA 2012 brought together both! We showcased some of the award winning entries from this year’s international festival of science film. Best Director Out of Our Minds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aozTZ_3ypZQ Best Experimental Coffee Ring Effect http://vimeo.com/47915210 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaCGoSTMHyc Award for Technical Merit Robot quadrotors perform James Bond Theme http://vimeo.com/47984210 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sUeGC-8dyk Best Short Film Reflector http://vimeo.com/30403047 Best Film Into The Gyre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwPngjodZE8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA_CM4txdxk   In association with ... Continue Reading »

The movie Titanic has been released again, and this time it incorporates 3D technology. Cinema fans have flocked to see the re-created blockbuster, often oblivious to the painstaking work that James Cameron's team put into the transformation. His people have scanned and photographed the wreck to create computer generated scenes to ... Continue Reading »

“I saw this most beautiful sound, it was just gorgeous… beautiful reds, yellows and purples…My mum said it was the cock crowing.” Julie, describing an early synesthetic memory. UK Animator Samantha Moore joined us and talked about her award-winning short film: An eyeful of sound that represents these fascinating ... Continue Reading »

A celebration of all things scientific will hit the big screen on Saturday 3 March as part of the Warrambeen Film Festival. Proudly presented by RiAus as part of its Free Range Science program, the afternoon will be packed with science films and documentaries including winning entries from the 2010 and ... Continue Reading »

Free Range Films @ Warrambeen Film Festival was a celebration of all things scientific with these extraordinary films made for the big screen. We entertained families with our hand-picked selection of short Scinema films, including winning entries from 2010 and 2011. Audiences enjoyed a stunning feature length documentary, In the ... Continue Reading »

Frank Fenner's scientific achievements changed the world forever. Born in Ballarat and raised in Adelaide, the pioneer of human and animal virology was responsible for the eradication of smallpox. Frank's life has been captured in a documentary, most of which was shot locally. The film is set to make its world premiere at ... Continue Reading »

Frank Fenner was one of Australia’s greatest scientists. In a career spanning over sixty years, he helped save Australia’s troops from Malaria in World War II and was a leading figure in the global campaign which eradicated smallpox. He saved the lives of millions, yet his own life ... Continue Reading »

Tying in with our solar theme, RiAus film club in October screened the 1996 comedy-drama: Race the sun, starring Halle Berry, James Belushi and Casey Affleck.  The film is based on the true story of the Konawaena High School Solar Car Team, which finished 18th in the 1990 ... Continue Reading »

This year's National Science Week is a platform for all in the field to inspire the community with how much their work can change the world. Scientists pride themselves on being logical, accurate and precise, so it's ironic that National Science Week should stretch for more than seven days. Award-winning science communicator ... Continue Reading »

Australian filmmakers have taken out top awards in the 2011 SCINEMA Festival of Science Film Competition. Festival Director, Cris Kennedy, said SCINEMA promotes links between science and the arts through film. View full media release: Aussie filmmakers bring home 2011 SCINEMA awards (3 August 2011) Visit the SCINEMA screening event ... Continue Reading »

The University of Melbourne’s Festival of Ideas is heading to Swan Hill next Thursday evening, with scientific experts discussing the latest in genetically modified crops, new medical treatments and cloning. The seminar gives the public the chance to put their questions to the scientists in a Q&A style panel discussion. View full ... Continue Reading »

Corangamite Shire residents will be treated to a film festival in the coming weeks. RiAus programs co-ordinator Kiran Shettigara said three science films will be screened for free over two days at the Theatre Royal in Camperdown. View full article from Cobden Times: Science on show (22 June 2011)

Dr Markus Schmidt has an educational background in electronic engineering, biology and environmental risk assessment. For almost 10 years now he has carried out environmental risk assessment, safety and public perception studies in a number of science and technology fields (GM crops, gene therapy, nanotechnology, converging technologies, and ... Continue Reading »

After completing a PhD in Reproductive Biology at the University of Adelaide, Steve escaped the laboratory and found a new life in the wonderful world of media and entertainment. After an industry initiation at 20thCentury Fox, he then helped establish Occidental Films and has since gained experience writing, directing and ... Continue Reading »

We are at a very disturbing point in film production, where we assume the audience has no imagination and no intelligence. Stories are spoon fed and wrapped up with explosions and effects to sell the same tired old plot. Such is the opinion of Douglas Trumbull, who has spent ... Continue Reading »

Psychopaths… they’ll charm you, manipulate you, then ruin your life. But not all of them with a gun or a knife. In this extra-ordinary documentary, suspected corporate psychopath Sam Vaknin goes in search of a diagnosis…was he born without a conscience? The tables are turned when film-maker Ian Walker becomes a ... Continue Reading »

December's choice saw us embrace the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth's primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live ... Continue Reading »

Sonya Pemberton is one of Australia's leading documentary writers, directors and executive producers. She has written and directed more than 45 hours of television, specialising in science documentaries for an international market. Her films have won more than 30 awards and she has been honoured ... Continue Reading »

RiAus partnered with the CSIRO and COSMOS magazine on the 2010 SCINEMA Festival of Science Film, a showcase for science dramas, documentaries, animations and short films. Entries from around the world were shortlisted by a jury presided over by the editor of COSMOS, Wilson da Silva. Winning entries were shown ... Continue Reading »