Science on Screen: “The Unbelievers” at The Loft Tonight

Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, who teaches at ASU, will be at the Loft Cinema tonight for a screening of The Unbelievers, a documentary about his travels with Richard Dawkins to promote science and reason.

The movie screens at 7 p.m. as part of the Loft’s Science on Screen program. More info on the movie here.

Here are details from the Loft’s website:

The Unbelievers follows evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss across the globe as they speak publicly to sold-out halls, advancing a thoughtful dialogue about the importance of science and reason in the modern world.

Dawkins, the world’s most famous atheist, and Krauss, director of the esteemed Origins Project, are dedicated to furthering the (r)evolutionary idea that science, above all else, should inform man’s understanding of the universe. Filmmaker Gus Holwerda follows these “rocks stars of reason” as they embark on a most modern crusade to encourage people to cast off antiquated ideologies and assume a purely rational approach to important current issues. Refusing to engage with those who advance divisive and extreme fundamentalist positions, Dawkins and Krauss show how sometimes sensitive and provocative ideas can be discusses respectfully and with intellectual rigor. Fans, including Ricky Gervais, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, Stephen Hawking, Woody Allen and Werner Herzog, share their impressions and support, while arenas full of admirers and the curious eagerly receive them. As engaging as the subjects themselves, The Unbelievers offers an exciting glimpse into two of the world’s most influential minds at work. (Dir. by Gus Holwerda, 2013, USA, 77 mins., Not Rated)

LAWRENCE KRAUSS is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist who is a professor of physics at Arizona State University, where he also serves as Foundation Professor of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and director of the Origins Project (a trans-disciplinary initiative that explores the most fundamental of questions who we are and where we came from). He is best known for his contributions to cosmology, as he was one of the first physicists to suggest that most of the mass and energy of the universe resides in empty space, an idea now widely known as dark energy. Krauss is one of the few living physicists referred to by Scientific American as a “public intellectual”, and he is the only physicist to have received awards from all three major U.S. physics societies: the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Institute of Physics. In 2012 he was awarded the National Science Board’s Public Service Medal for his contributions to public education in science and engineering in the US. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing and he is an advocate of scientific skepticism, science education, and the science of morality.

GUS HOLWERDA is one of the founders of Black Chalk Productions, an innovative team of young artists and filmmakers that has produced award-winning music videos, commercials, short-length and feature-length film since 2004. The Unbelievers is Holwerda’s debut documentary feature.

This article appears in Jan 8-14, 2015.