See you at the movies!

The third edition of CinéGlobe, the international film festival founded at and hosted by CERN, will be taking place 27 March to 1 April. Some 55 short films will be shown in the Globe of Science and Innovation, all based around this year’s theme: “infinitely interconnected”.

Founded by members of CERN’s Film-making Club, CinéGlobe began in 2007 as a simple “friends and family” event for club members. “We turned our annual meetings into a screening event, showing off films we’d made over a year,” says Neal Hartman, a mechanical engineer who is president of the CERN-based filmmaker’s club OYE (Open Your Eyes Films) and is also the artistic director of the CineGlobe festival. “It was extremely popular and great fun, but the next year we just didn’t have enough new films to justify a screening. So, Jacques-Hervé Fichet – member of the Visual Media Office within the CERN Communication Group and also a member of the Film-making Club – suggested we have an open call for submissions and hold a mini-festival of our own.”

Over the years, this simple “open call” grew into the international film festival that CinéGlobe is today. Although now organised by an association separate to the CERN Film-making Club, the festival maintains firm links with the CERN community. “The association’s statutes require that 50% of the CinéGlobe organisers be from CERN, and that a certain number of those be part of the Film-making Club,” says Neal. “But actually, many of the non-CERN organisers are ex-CERNois – colleagues who may have left the Organization but are still drawn by the CERN principles that the festival encourages.”

While CinéGlobe is, at its core, an opportunity for viewers to discover interesting films while experiencing new cinematic techniques, the festival is still held in the spirit of CERN: fostering collaboration between talented people without focussing on commercial activities. “CinéGlobe is not just another opportunity for directors to meet distributers,” says Neal. “This non-commercial spirit is one of the reasons why the festival has gained such momentum on the international stage.”

A professional jury will be picking the principal winners of this year’s CinéGlobe festival, but awards will also be given to the audience favourites. You can cast your votes during the festival screenings – taking place 27 March to 1 April during lunch-hours, in the evenings from Tuesday to Friday, and all day at the weekend. “Audience participation is a big part of CinéGlobe,” concludes Neal. “If you’re looking for a different type of repose during your next lunch break, come down to the Globe and cast your vote!”

For more details about the festival, including a schedule of the film screenings, visit the website.

by Katarina Anthony