Darwin Film Festival in Cambridge

Readers in, or who can get to, Cambridge in July may be interested in the Darwin-related film season taking place at the Cambridge Picturehouse cinema.

Coinciding with the Darwin 2009 Festival at the University of Cambridge (and, of course, to celebrate the Darwin200 anniversary), the film season groups together a seemingly random mix of documentaries, blockbusters and art films, with a loose relation to evolution.

Film's on show include the documentary Darwin's Nightmare, about the disastrous introduction of Nile Perch fish to Lake Victoria in Africa, which completely unbalanced the ecosystem. Elsewhere there's the like's of Danny Boyle's Sci-Fi epic Sunshine and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (the latter's ape-bone scene perhaps one of the most iconic evolution montages in cinema history). And, curiously, The Golden Compass, the adaptation of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights.

Darwin Endless forms - exhibition and podcast

The Darwin Endless Forms exhibition explores Darwin's interest in the visual arts, alongside some of the artistic responses to his ideas in the later 19th century.

The exhibition, supported by the Wellcome Trust as part of its Darwin200 activities, opens this week at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and runs until October. Featuring works by Turner, Degas, Monet and Cézanne it looks at the impact of the theory of evolution upon artists of the late nineteenth century, offering "an intriguing new perspective on the cultural resonance of Darwin’s theories."

The exhibition is accompanied by a series of podcasts exploring Darwin's life, work and legacy. The first two looked at Darwin's fascination with Geology and his student days at Christ College Cambridge. You can download and watch the audio and video files here.

Darwin 2009 Anniversary Festival

If you’re around, or fancy a visit to, Cambridge in July, the University of Cambridge will be running an entire festival dedicated to Darwin and evolution.

The Darwin 2009 Anniversary Festival
Sunday 5 – Friday 10 July 2009

Celebrating the Darwin bicentenary, the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species and the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge, the festival is a mix of "science, society, literature, history, philosophy, theology, art and music arising from the writings, life and times of Charles Darwin presented through talks, discussions, performances, workshops, exhibitions and tours".

There are some wonderful events and stellar guests. Highlights include:

• Tuesday July 7th 2009 19:30 Sir Terry Pratchett and Professor Jack Cohen discuss their recent book The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch
• Wednesday July 8th 2009 19:30 Dame AS Byatt, Gillian Beer, Ian McEwan and David Amigoni discuss Darwin in Fiction
• Friday July 10th 2009 20:00 Recital: Life Laughs Onward - Darwin Poetry and Music with Susan Gritton (soprano), Ian Burnside (piano) and Ruth Padel (poet).

For further details, prices and booking instructions, please visit the website.