And we’re back
I was peripherally involved with SCINEMA in 2000 when it played at the cinema I used to run, and then I made my first foray into science film the following year by picking up the reins and running some more screenings at the Canberra Museum and Gallery and the Student Union at the University of Canberra. It’s now 2025 and I’ve had about four careers myself and I find myself, for the second time, Director of SCINEMA Film Festival. I ran SCINEMA for about 15 of its now 25 years along with my friend Damian Harris. It was a ride! In the early days, before Film Freeway was a thing, it was mailed entries and Damian making VHS copies of our program and my mailing them out in the post. Both of our lounge rooms and lives were given over to the Festival for months every year. The world moved to digital, eventually it was CD burning towers and then online screenings. But we both burned out, which happens to plenty of people who volunteer their time and have to hold down (sometimes multiple) day jobs, and we were thrilled when the Royal Institute of Australia asked if we’d consider them running SCINEMA. They handed the Festival back to the CSIRO, where it all began, in 2024 and I approached CSIRO earlier this year to ask if they’d like some help running the Festival. And so here I am again, a Festival Director, working back alongside pals at the CSIRO, Griffith University, Questacon, National Science Week, The Royal Australian Mint, and STEM Matters/The Brilliant.
Also at the helm is the tireless Kylie Ahern and her company STEM Matters. Kylie knocked on my door at CSIRO Land and Water way back in 2004, offering to support SCINEMA with her then newly-launched Cosmos Magazine, and she has been a strong business and communications advisor since. It’s great to be working with her to imagine, once again, new ways to connect smart ideas to everyday people.
We just made the 2025 Festival CALL FOR ENTRIES live on FilmFreeway, and so if you are a maker, or want to get started making science film, let us know who you are.
Cris Kennedy 30 May 2025