The new chapter of the Human Brains project expands Cinema Godard’s program, creating a dialogue between science communication and cinematic storytelling across 9 monthly events, free and open to the public, running from October 1, 2026 to May 2027.
The events include screenings of fiction films and documentaries, selected by programmer Sergio Fant, accompanied by talks by international scientists, professors, and researchers, and conversations between film directors and scientists.
Through film screenings, “Screen Talk” broadens the boundaries of Human Brains, offering new perspectives on questions related to neuroscientific research. It aims to explore themes such as longevity, brain plasticity, resilience, the preservation of mental and physical well-being in adolescents and the importance of empathy in the medical field, the use of artificial intelligence, the role of dreams, consciousness, memory, behavioral sciences, and language.
THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER 2026, 8 PM
SCREEN
The Oldest Person in the World (2025) by Sam Green
TALK
“What Research on Centenarians Tells Us About Dementia and Resilience”
Prof. Philip Scheltens
The first meeting is dedicated to the themes of aging and cognitive decline. Sam Green’s documentary, presented at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, is the result of a decade-long investigation that traces the history of people who have held the title of the world’s oldest person, gradually shifting from a portrayal of longevity to a meditation on the passing of time.
The following lecture by Prof. Philip Scheltens – neurologist, Partner at EQT Group, Head of the Dementia Fund at EQT Life Sciences, and founder of the Alzheimer Center at Amsterdam University Medical Centers – reflects on brain plasticity and its role in disease prevention. He will illustrate the value of resilience to Alzheimer’s disease through recent studies of centenarians with intact cognitive abilities. The event concludes with an open discussion between Scheltens and Green, moderated by Sergio Fant.
THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER 2026, 8 PM
SCREEN
Conscious (2026) by Suki Chan
TALK
“Brain, Consciousness, and Memory: A Neuroscientific Perspective”
Prof. Daniela Perani
The second event invites us to reflect on what neuroscience allows us to understand about the brain, and on how much remains unknown about a person’s individual experience. The investigation begins with an introduction by director Suki Chan to her documentary, presented at the Global Science Film Festival in Basel and at CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival. The film explores consciousness, identity, and individual and collective memory through interviews with people living with medical conditions, caregivers, and scientists. Next, Prof. Daniela Perani – neurologist, radiologist, Professor Emerita of Neuroscience at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, and member of the Steering Committee of the Molecular Connectivity Working Group – reflects on the complexity of the brain’s architecture and on how some cognitive functions, such as memory, can be severely compromised by neurodegenerative diseases, while others, such as self-awareness and consciousness, may remain intact. The meeting ends with an open discussion between Perani and Chan, moderated by Fant.
THURSDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2026, ORE 20
SCREEN
Teenage Life Interrupted (2025) by Åse Svenheim Drivenes
TALK
“Building Bridges between Mind and Body”
Dott. Hans Petter Fundingsrud
The meeting explores psychosomatic symptoms in adolescence, often considered inexplicable by conventional medicine, and highlights the power of listening and empathy in the doctor-patient relationship. The film, introduced by director Åse Svenheim Drivenes, tells the story of four adolescent girls hospitalized with debilitating physical symptoms, and of the diagnostic process led by pediatrician Hans Petter Fundingsrud and child psychiatrist Elin Drivenes. In his lecture, Dr. Hans Petter Fundingsrud – one of the documentary’s protagonists and a specialist in treating children and adolescents with psychosomatic symptoms – shows how a therapy based on listening and direct dialogue with patients, families, and doctors helps clarify the unconscious defense mechanisms linked to trauma, anxiety, and expectations that affect the physical and mental well-being of younger generations. The event concludes with an open discussion between Fundingsrud and Drivenes, moderated by Fant.