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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.

Dec
3
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.

Dec
10
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.

Jan
14
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.

Past Events
Saturday Cinema: The Mascot

Saturday, September 6, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

One of the greatest short films ever made, The Mascot is an inventive stop-motion animation featuring a troupe of charismatic puppets and a stuffed dog’s quest to bring his dying owner an orange.
Saturday Cinema: Exploratorium!

Saturday, August 30, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

Join us for a glimpse of the Exploratorium’s early years with the 1974 film Exploratorium. Commissioned by founder Frank Oppenheimer, the film presents a tone poem of space in motion foregrounded by exhibits and visitor interactions, highlighting innovation and wonder.
Off the Screen: Imagine Science Film Festival

Friday, August 22, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.

New York–based Imagine Science Films brings their first West Coast program to the Exploratorium. “Experiments on Film” presents inventive takes on the science experiment. The evening concludes with an informal panel discussion.
Saturday Cinema: Kinder Kino with Canyon Cinema

Saturday, August 16, 2014 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

For decades, San Francisco–based Canyon Cinema has been a key distributor of avant-garde and artist-made films. This mind-expanding program introduces audiences to the pleasures of experimental cinema.
Saturday Cinema: Things

Saturday, August 9, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

Uncover the charisma of everyday objects. From artful studies of the complex ways that seemingly simple objects are constructed to comical glimpses of people clearing paths through clutter, these films focus on stuff.
Saturday Cinema: Spin

Saturday, August 2, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

From tops to turntables, these films take objects for a whirl. Featured filmmakers create and record spinning motion to present dizzying views of the world.
Saturday Cinema: Serious Fun

Saturday, July 26, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

Full of mischief, tomfoolery, and whimsy, these cinematic spectacles lend gravity to levity, inspiring curiosity and a deeper engagement with our natural impulse to play.
Saturday Cinema: Seeing Sounds

Saturday, July 19, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

Treat your eyes to an earful with these synaesthetic shorts. Translating sound into responsive and harmonized imagery, these works of visual music revolve around innovative and memorable soundtracks
Off the Screen: Madison Brookshire—Selected Works

Thursday, July 17, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.

Los Angeles–based artist Madison Brookshire presents a two-part program of his cinematic works concluding with his ambitious, cameraless Color Series. Exploring the tactile elements of the cinematic experience, Brookshire’s films produce complex, unexpected physical reactions.
Saturday Cinema: One Click at a Time

Saturday, July 12, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

A playful, do-it-yourself spirit pervades this collection of handcrafted shorts featuring paper sets, inventive uses of familiar objects, and astonishing patterns.
Saturday Cinema: Lasers With Ron Hipschman

Saturday, June 28, 2014 • 2:00 p.m.

In this entertaining program, Exploratorium scientist Ron Hipschman merges a cinematic laser show with the science behind their development. The program concludes with a selection of laser show-related films.
Off the Screen: John Sanborn’s PICO (reMix)

Thursday, June 19, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.

In this innovative and singular video memoir, local artist John Sanborn explores the seismic artistic upheaval wrought by three great artists: John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, and Nam June Paik.

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