Cambridge Festival of Film 2022
2022
Hidden histories: why do we need more stories?
Despite resistance, there is a growing appetite for the humanities to present a less exclusive, less partial outlook on the world. What are the obstacles and what is the role of academics and artists in changing the way we view the past and the present?
*Live discussion recording has been edited re copyright*
Cambridge Imagines
A fascinating series of short films with researchers at Cambridge who are imagining the future. These films share an insight into the researchers and their work including studying seals from space, tackling anthrax across Uganda and Kenya, the future of cultivated meat, using tech to fight menstrual shaming and a future climate apocalypse.
An unequal world: beyond levelling up
What has COVID taught us about social inequality in the UK? Simon Szreter and Hilary Cooper are authors of the book After the virus: Lessons from the past for a better future which reveals the deep roots of the UK’s vulnerability and sets out a powerful manifesto for change post-Covid-19.
Waterloo Sunrise: London from the Sixties to Thatcher
A kaleidoscopic history of how the 1960s and 1970s changed London forever. Waterloo Sunrise is a panoramic and multifaceted account of modern London during the transformative years of the sixties and seventies, when a city still bearing the scars of war emerged as a vibrant yet divided metropolis.
What is machine learning and why is it useful in brain research?
Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence – Two terms often used interchangeably and both rapidly becoming invaluable tools in neuroscience research. But what are they? What is the difference between them? How are they being used in modern brain research and more importantly, would you allow your medical treatment to be altered based on their findings?
Good grief: how do we support bereaved people better?
Covid has brought bereavement to the fore, raising questions about how a society confronts grief on such a huge scale. In this discussion, Professor Stephen Barclay, GP Dr Dan Knights and grief podcaster Amber Jeffrey will talk about the impact of bereavement on society at large and changing attitudes to how the medical profession should respond and the kind of support needed in the community.
Can political innovation come from crisis?
How does the history of ideas help us to understand what is happening today and will the multiple crises we are facing spawn new ideas about how we organise society? Professor David Runciman whose most recent book, Confronting Leviathan, explores the birth of new political ideas over the last centuries is in conversation with Professor Arshin Adib Moghaddam, whose work investigates the impact of technology and AI on future politics and society.
Cambridge at the forefront of human embryo research
Embryo research in the UK is governed by principles that are over 40 years old. New developments led by Cambridge researchers mean that we are now pushing the limits of what is technically and legally possible in embryo research. Join our panel of scientific, legal, sociological and historical experts as they debate whether it is time to revisit the rules governing fertility and embryo research. Our panel, chaired by Professor Nick Hopwood (History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge) is Professor Kathy Niakan (PDN, Cambridge) Professor Sarah Franklin (Sociology, Cambridge) Professor Robin Lovell-Badge (Francis Crick Institute, London) & Sarah Norcross ( Progress Educational Trust).
Televising the future: Nineteen Eighty-Four and the imagination of Nigel Kneale
Nineteen Eighty-Four is rightly regarded as a classic. George Orwell’s dystopia is shot through with powerful political imagery. ‘Big Brother’, ‘Room 101’, and the ‘Thought Police’ remain touchstones in contemporary debate. Adapted by Nigel Kneale and directed by Rudolph Cartier, starring Peter Cushing, Yvonne Mitchell, and André Morell, the BBC production caused outrage in the press, propelling Orwell’s novel to the front page. Televising the Future: Nineteen Eighty-Four and the imagination of Nigel Kneale examines the story behind the Kneale and Cartier adaptation, the relationship between the book and the teleplay, and the impact of the production.
Martin Rees: The world in 2050 on Earth and in space
A talk by Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, about his new book ‘The End of Astronauts'. Human journeys into space fill us with wonder. But the thrill of space travel for astronauts comes at enormous expense and is fraught with peril. As our robot explorers grow more competent, governments and corporations must ask, does our desire to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars justify the cost and danger? Donald Goldsmith and Martin Rees believe that beyond low-Earth orbit, space exploration should proceed without humans. In The End of Astronauts, Goldsmith and Rees weigh the benefits and risks of human exploration across the solar system.
Before the West: rise and fall of Eastern world orders
Join Ayse Zarakol, Professor of International Relations, and Hans van de Ven, Professor of Modern Chinese History, in conversation about Professor Zarakol’s new book: ‘Before the West: The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders’.
Women and power after COVID
How has the pandemic affected women’s equality? How has girls’ education around the world been affected? Have women leaders proved better at steering their communities through the crisis? How will the additional care burden they face affect them in the workplace or has the pandemic revealed a greater urgency when it comes to action? Will we see more female leaders and a shrinking gender pay gap as a result or fewer?
Can precision medicines transform healthcare for chronic diseases
Precision medicines – targeting the right medicine to the right patient at the right time – have revolutionised the treatment of some cancers and rare genetic diseases, yet precision medicines for chronic diseases are far less common. Chronic diseases are biologically complex and driven by multiple mechanisms. To improve patient outcomes, we must move beyond the current standard of by unravelling the complex underlying biology, and pioneering and applying advanced technologies. Hear from a panel of experts about the potential for a precision medicine approach to transform care in chronic diseases.
Animals and humans: towards a closer relationship?
With the rise of zoonotic diseases, the increasing popularity of veganism in response to climate change and growing interest in animal rights issues, this panel will discuss the past, present and future of our relationships with animals.
Why calories don't count with Dr Giles Yeo
Obesity researcher Dr Giles Yeo challenges the conventional model and demonstrates that all calories are not created equal. He addresses why popular diets succeed, at least in the short term, and why they ultimately fail, and what your environment has to do with your bodyweight.
How to build a resilient society? with RAND Europe
In this presentation by research organisation RAND Europe, experts discuss what we understand by the notion of societal resilience, exploring what could be done to improve and bolster resilience in the UK, and if we can learn lessons from other countries.
COVID Communications: did science win?
What have we learned from the Covid pandemic about science communications?
Economic aspects of the war in Ukraine
In the modern interconnected world, the war in Ukraine has a global impact. This online event brings speakers to talk about economic aspects of the Ukrainian economy. More specifically, the speakers will cover the topics of the economic impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and look closer into the financial sector.
Lessons from history for governing the digital future with the Bennett Institute of Public Policy
Digital technology – smart phones, social media, AI, 5G, virtual reality, smart homes... – is transforming the way we live, work and play. Opportunities from new digital products and services can drive economic growth and tackle some of the biggest challenges we face – from climate change and coronavirus to conflict and poverty. But how can we also curb the harms it creates?
Cambridge Festival at CEB: Can aviation go green?
Join George Fulham from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology's Energy Carriers and Reactions group, as he provides an overview of the challenges in selecting and producing sustainable fuels for future aviation, with the use of the UK aviation as a case study.
CRASSH | Combating harmful content online: the potential of Counterspeech
This talk explores the ethical and technological considerations of Counterspeech. Some of the questions addressed are: What are different forms of Counterspeech? When is Counterspeech effective? Who should or can perform Counterspeech? Can and should we deploy technology to assist or take over the role of Counterspeakers online?
CRASSH | Online harms: how AI can protect us
This talk will give a detailed technical and practical introduction to how state-of-the-art automated systems can identify potentially harmful content that involves texts as well as images. By considering this specific example, the talk will show how AI-based techniques can be used to make online interactions safer for those groups who are more likely to suffer abuse or discrimination. No specialist knowledge of this field is assumed in advanced, so the session will provide a useful introduction for anyone who would like to know more about how AI can be used to mitigate online harms.
12 Bytes: Discussing Artificial Intelligence with Jeanette Winterson
Author Jeanette Winterson speaks with Cambridge University Librarian, Dr Jessica Gardner, about her new book 12 Bytes: How We Got Here. Where We Might Go Next (July 2021); a series of essays exploring her years of researching Artificial Intelligence and the implications it is having on the ways we live and the ways we love. Hosted as part of the Cambridge Festival 2022.
Re-engineering the Regulation of Regenerative Medicine? - The 2022 Baron de Lancey Lecture
This talk explores whether international human rights law might require governments to identify, monitor, and support translational pathways that would provide broad, equitable access to the benefits of regenerative medicine, or whether international human rights law requires a more controlled approach because of the potential social implications. With regenerative medicine's great potential, the welfare of current and future generations is at stake.
Hungry for more?
Check out the Cambridge Festival of Podcasts, where you'll find all the podcasts from around Cambridge all in one place. Listen to one, then move on to the next!
Subjects include everything from radiotherapy and finding the links between climate change and early marriage to what really happened to Darwin's missing notebooks.
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