BrainBlog

From The Guardian's website, with a podcast to follow: Memory and amnesia in the movies by Mo Castandi Neurophilosophy 13 February 2012 Read the full article

On the 20th of October, the New York Academy of Sciences is hosting the following event: Celluloid Science: Humanizing Life in the Lab From the website: "Science & the City teams with the Imagine Science Film Festival (ISFF) to present a panel discussion about telling the stories of science through film. Moderating this panel will be A Planet of Viruses author Carl Zimmer. On the panel will be Sean Carroll, PhD (evolutionary biologist and founder of the Howard Hughes Medical institute's Documentary Institute); David J. Heeger, PhD (neuroscientist who studies the brains under the influence of cinematic stimuli); Darcy Kelley, PhD (biologist at Columbia University); and Valerie Weiss, PhD (scientist and award-winning writer and director, Losing Control)." Full description here

In continued postings here about Away From Her , I note that Julie Christie and Sarah Polley have just been nominated in Academy Award categories Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively. The screenplay was adapted from a short story written by Alice Munro.

In continued postings here about Away From Her , I note that yesterday Julie Christie won a Golden Globe award as Best Actress for her performance in the movie. Golden Globe Winners

Sarah Polley's movie won a Canadian film award this weekend: From the CBC : Polley's film big winner at Director's Guild Awards Last Updated: Sunday, September 30, 2007 | 9:38 AM ET The Canadian Press Sarah Polley's poignant Away From Her was the big winner at the 2007 Directors Guild of Canada Awards on Saturday. The film was honoured as best picture, and Polley was named best director; her husband, David Wharnsby, won the prize for best picture editing. The critically acclaimed movie chronicles the intrusion of Alzheimer's disease into the lives of an aging couple, played by Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie. [ ... Read the full article ... ] Read my earlier post about this movie here .

From Australia's National Nine News: Alzheimer's struggle brought to screen Friday Sep 21 08:19 AEST At just 28 years of age, Canadian director Sarah Polley has made a debut feature film that directors twice her age and experience would be proud of. Also a talented actress, she is best known to Australian audiences for her acting roles as a supermarket checkout chick in the 1999 crime thriller Go and a schoolgirl in Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter. For her directorial debut, Away From Her , Polley chose to tell the story of a couple in their 60s who are dealing with Alzheimer's disease. It is hardly a film you would expect a 20-something film-maker to produce. The fact that she convinced Oscar winners Julie Christie and Olympia Dukakis to be part of the movie is even more impressive. "During rehearsals, all of a sudden it dawned on me that I was directing people who were twice my age, and who had a good deal more experience than I did, and who were actors that ...