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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

Colorful soap film
Something Wonderful . . .

Thursday, July 1–Thursday, September 30, 2021

Visual delights, ingenious craft, and luminous phenomena. Something wonderful awaits you in this collection of artist-made films.

Past Events
Saturday Cinema: Teachers Institute Film Festival

Saturday, February 8, 2014 • 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

Saturday Cinema: Gyre: Creating Art from a Plastic Ocean

Saturday, February 1, 2014 • 1:00 p.m. screening in the Kanbar Forum, 2:30–4:30 p.m. workshop in the Phyllis C. Wattis Webcast Studio

A screening of Gyre: Creating Art from a Plastic Ocean will be followed by a discussion of the Gyre Expedition with photographer Kip Evans, as well as a hands-on art workshop with Los Angeles–based artist Claudio Garzón.
Saturday Cinema: Experimental Films for Kids

Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

Here at the Exploratorium, we declare that experimental cinema is nothing to be afraid of—and have put together a program to prove it!
Saturday Cinema: Space

Saturday, January 18, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

These films bring inventive narratives and spellbinding visuals to bear on the mysteries of outer space. From works incorporating scientific data and visualizations to imaginative indulgences, each film is a singular exploration of the drive to understand the unknown.
Saturday Cinema: Space

Saturday, August 31, 2013 | 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.

These films bring inventive narratives and spellbinding visuals to bear on the mysteries of outer space. From works incorporating scientific data and visualizations to imaginative indulgences, each film is a singular exploration of the drive to understand the unknown.
Off the Screen: Chip Lord City Films

Thursday, January 16, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.

Since 1992, video artist and photographer Chip Lord has revisited a series examining city spaces. Straddling the line between documentary and experimental filmmaking, Lord’s films take a unique approach to exploring what defines a city and the factors influencing its constant transmutations.
Saturday Cinema: Geometry in Motion

Saturday, January 11, 2014 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.

Animations and handcrafted masterpieces explore the limitless potential of geometry with kaleidoscopic transformations, dancing patterns, dramatic narratives, and hypnotic shifts in space.
The Little Tramp at 100: A Charlie Chaplin Centennial Celebration

Saturday, January 11, 2014 • 1:00, 4:00, and 7:30 p.m.

Exploratorium Cinema Arts is pleased to co-present The Little Tramp at 100: A Charlie Chaplin Centennial Celebration with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. This event at the Castro Theater features three programs showcasing Chaplin’s indelible contribution to cinema. See silentfilm.org for details.
Saturday Cinema: Holiday Animation

Saturday, January 4, 2014 • noon, 2:00 & 4:00 p.m.

Ring in the New Year with exuberant, unaffected stories of heroism, emotional reactions, and internal conflicts.
Saturday Cinema: Holiday Animation

Saturday, December 28, 2013 • noon, 2:00 & 4:00 p.m.

Ring in the New Year with exuberant, unaffected stories of heroism, emotional reactions, and internal conflicts.
Off the Screen: Robert Nelson’s Suite California Stops & Passes

Saturday, December 21, 2013 • 4:00 p.m.

Robert Nelson’s legendary Suite California films have not been screened together in the Bay Area for more than thirty years—until now. Experience Nelson’s remarkable vision of his home state and stay for a reception featuring live music from Mike Henderson, William T. Wiley, and friends. Copresented by Canyon Cinema Foundation.
Saturday Cinema: Holiday Memories

Saturday, December 21, 2013 • 2:00 p.m.

Enjoy classic tales of small-town adventures, seen through the eyes of childhood. Colorful animation and black-and-white photographs transform memories of mid-20th century Wales and Canada into winter wonderlands of youthful surprises, disappointments, and holiday play.

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