North American Premiere
How do we make sense of the world around us? How do tools shape our perception of nature? This search for understanding is immersed in an astounding array of human ingenuity and innovation, from Leibniz’s 17th century binary systems to the art of M.C. Escher; from the diverse boat-building techniques of First Nations peoples to the latest advances in quantum computing. Featuring a dazzling integration of artwork and experimental cinema – Picasso to Hilma af Klint to Stan Brakhage – interwoven with mathematicians and scientists striving to understand the innermost depths of the universe, we’re sent on a breathtaking journey through the known world.
The second feature from award-winning filmmaker and renowned physicist Mark Levinson (Particle Fever), The Universe in a Grain of Sand explores the synergistic intersection of art and science. Levinson maps out revolutions in analog and digital technology as they lead to increasingly complex artistic endeavours and stretch the boundaries of human perception, celebrating the transcendent power of the scientific imagination.
Sept 27 & Oct 1: Q&A with director Mark Levinson
Sept 29: Q&A with director Mark Levinson; artist Kristen Roos; and George Dyson
USA
2024
English
Flashing/strobing lights
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Andy Aaron, Mark Podlaseck
Producer
Mark A. Levinson
Screenwriter
Mark A. Levinson
Cinematography
Claudia Raschke, Howard Shack, Alan Jensen
ANIM
Ksawery Kirklewski
Editor
Mark A. Levinson, Melody London, Danya Abt, Michele Zarbafian
Original Music
Robert Miller
Mark A. Levinson
Mark A. Levinson is the director of the award-winning documentary Particle Fever (2013). Before embarking on a film career, Levinson earned a PhD in physics. In the film world, he first became a specialist in sound editing, working on over 40 feature films, including The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley. He is the director of The Bit Player (2018) and the fiction film Prisoner of Time (1993). Levinson won the inaugural Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.
Filmography: Prisoner of Time (1993); Particle Fever (2013); The Bit Player (2018)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Emergence: Women in the Storm
Stories of resistance and recovery, courage, creativity and community in the face of the climate emergency gleaned from women first responders and those impacted in Western Canada, particularly Lytton and the Fraser Valley.
Muzizi
From the director of the award-winning film Union Street, Jamila Pomeroy, Muzizi embarks on a great culinary adventure through Vancouver’s African diasporic culinary scene. Muzizi explores powerful stories of immigration, resilience, and joy.
Nomadland
Hamnet director Chloe Zhao picked up one of three Academy Awards (along with Best Picture and Best Actress) in 2021 for this unconventional, compassionate adaptation of Jessica Bruder's nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.