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The Cinema Arts Program

The Cinema Arts Program

Approaching movies as an active viewing experience, staff in the Cinema Arts Program view the projection screen as a portal to investigation. We engage with filmmakers who create works that inspire the imagination and instigate conversation. Animation, documentary, poetic observations, and abstract visuals serve a broad spectrum of curious audiences while blending the methods and aesthetics of artists and scientists. Through our programming, we aim to provide an opportunity for visitors to explore the compelling people, places, and ideas that extend through the museum and beyond. Our collection of films and events offer a rich resource for public audiences, and also provide an important research collection for both our teaching programs and exhibit development teams.

Upcoming Events

Film still from Attraction by Emily Scaife
Glow Cinema: Illuminated Frames

Thursday, November 17, 2022–Sunday, January 29, 2023

The dimmed atmosphere of the microcinema sets the perfect scene to luxuriate in these abstract, transportive, and luminescent motion pictures.

Past Events

Still image from Luminae by Dominic Angerame
Saturday Cinema: Shimmering Phenomena

Saturday, January 28, 2023 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

Animated and abstract short films shimmer in the theater’s darkness to conjure luminous worlds, both kinetic and contemplative.

Still from the short film Light Year by Paul Clipson
Saturday Cinema: Luminous Landscapes

Saturday, January 14, 2023 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

Animated and abstract short films shimmer in the theater’s darkness to conjure luminous worlds, both kinetic and contemplative.

Still from the short film White Out by Jeffrey Scher
Saturday Cinema: Gleaming Worlds

Saturday, December 10, 2022 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

Animated and abstract short films shimmer in the theater’s darkness to conjure luminous worlds, both kinetic and contemplative.

Still image from the short film Con Brio by Sandra Eber
Saturday Cinema: Let Your Light Shine

Saturday, December 3, 2022 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

Animated and abstract short films shimmer in the theater’s darkness to conjure luminous worlds, both kinetic and contemplative.

Still from the short film Twyla Tharp by Kathleen Quillian
Saturday Cinema: Radiance

Saturday, November 19, 2022 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

Animated and abstract short films shimmer in the theater’s darkness to conjure luminous worlds, both kinetic and contemplative.

Still image from the animated short film Please Press One Key of a man riding a bicycle in the sky.
Saturday Cinema: The Art of Tinkering
With Artist Joyce Cheng in Person

Saturday, September 3, 2022 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

An array of animated and kinetic short films explore the inventive ways that amateurs, artists, and tinkerers manipulate the moving image in surprising and/or captivating ways.

In a Manual Cinema production of Hansel and Gretel, two silhouetted figures approach a house in the woods.
Multimedia Shadow Play
With Manual Cinema

Tuesday, August 9–Sunday, August 14, 2022

Create your own form of live cinema in an installation designed by Emmy Award–winning Manual Cinema.

A person casts the shadows of a forest on white canvas using a light source and small model trees.
Facing West Shadows: Phantasmagoria
With Facing West Shadows

Saturday, July 30, 2022 • 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 31, 2022 • 2:00 p.m.

Join us for the premiere of Facing West Shadows: Phantasmagoria, a live, multimedia, shadow-theater opera inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Robber Bridegroom.”

Team Spain stands above a table of Lego robots at the World Robot Olympiad in the documentary short Me and My Robot.
Saturday Cinema: Me & My Robot
With Filmmaker Mark Decena

Saturday, July 16, 2022 • 1:00 p.m. PT

In celebration of our summer exhibition The Art of Tinkering, we are pleased to be joined by filmmaker Mark Decena for the Bay Area theatrical premiere Me & My Robot, which documents the 2018 World Robot Olympiad in Thailand.

Still image from the animated short film Dot.
Saturday Cinema: The Art of Tinkering

Saturday, July 9, 2022 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. PT

An array of animated and kinetic short films explore the inventive ways that amateurs, artists, and tinkerers manipulate the moving image in surprising and/or captivating ways.

Images in vibrant and negative colors repeat like many rolls of film.
Cinema Arts: Motion Picture Play

Saturday, June 18–Monday, September 5, 2022

Celebrate the spirit of playfulness in moviemaking. These shorts explore creative uses of familiar materials, revealing imaginative landscapes, humorous inventions, and curious surprises. 

Saturday Cinema: Forests in Focus

Saturday, April 23, 2022 • 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. PT

Ecological restoration methods are progressing in new directions thanks to modern observational tools, which allow scientists to see, study, and protect the environment. Join the Science Communication Lab's team and guests for a screening and discussion of their award-winning short film.

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The Kanbar Forum
The Kanbar Forum

Experience our state-of-the-art venue for films, music, and more.

Contact Us

For questions about the Exploratorium Cinema Arts Program, please contact us at:
cinemaarts@ exploratorium.edu

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