One Scientist. One Filmmaker. One Week to Make a Film

A scientist and a filmmaker walk into a bar…and leave tasked with creating a film together in just one week. This is how Symbiosis, a competition held each year as part of the Imagine Science Film Festival (ISFF), typically kicks things off. The competition, now in its sixth year as an ISFF program, pairs six scientists with six filmmakers and sends them off into New York City to create a science-inspired short film over the course of just seven days.

Each team approaches the process of creating a film together differently, which yields diverse and fascinating results. The films are later showcased during the festival’s closing night event, where a packed audience experiences the films, and a winner is selected.

The Imagine Science Film Festival, founded and artistically directed by Alexis Gambis, joined the Science Sandbox community of awardees in 2017, and recently celebrated its 15th year.

The Stories of Impact series highlights the real-world influences of Science Sandbox projects through personal narratives, videos and interviews.

This film was commissioned and executive produced by Science Sandbox, an initiative of the Simons Foundation. It was produced by People's TV and directed by Henry Kinder.