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
Blue Heron
In the late 1990s, eight-year-old Sasha and her Hungarian immigrant family relocate to a new home on Vancouver Island. Their fresh start is interrupted by increasingly dangerous behaviour from Jeremy, the family’s oldest child.
The Last One for the Road
Two middle-aged drunkards drive across the Veneto region on a freewheeling bender, taking a young college student along for the ride. A celebration of the spirit of drink and the kinds of stories told around a table of old friends and too much wine.
How Deep Is Your Love
Filmmaker Eleanor Mortimer tags along with a team of oceanographers and marine biologists as they survey the Clarion-Clipperton fracture, one of the most remote spots on Earth, home to a dazzling array of unknown creatures.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
