1970s Sci-Fi: The Architecture of Nature
The unique opportunity to present ground breaking 70s sci-fi film Silent Running in fully restored High Definition at the ICA led us to think more about that decade’s interest in man-made technology’s place in nature. So we’ve unearthed a pair of rarely screened treats alongside Silent Running to show how prescient the genre was at expressing ecological concerns which wouldn’t enter the mainstream popular consciousness for at least another two or three decades.
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Silent Running
21 October 2011 - 27 October 2011
Mankind has extinguished all animal and plant life on earth and our remaining forests, vegetation and animal life are preserved in vast spaceships. When the order is given to abandon them, Freeman Lowell can’t bear to carry out his orders.
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Andromeda Strain
21 October 2011 - 23 October 2011
A team of scientists investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. With breathtaking design and Special Effects from Silent Running director Douglas Trumball, The Andromeda Strain is a film about humanity and its sense of self when faced with the unknowable.
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Phase IV
22 October 2011 - 27 October 2011
At times haunting and even beautiful, it concerns a pair of US scientists who are observing strange behavioural patterns in ant colonies deep in the desert. The ants develop exponentially creating a form of collective consciousness which soon comes to the conclusion that we pesky humans need taking down a peg or two.