Science on Screen Returns for Another Season to Images Cinema

08:07AM / Thursday, January 02, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Images Cinema is excited to announce another season of Science on Screen.

This year's theme is "Eco-Disaster: How We Imagine Humankind Will Navigate Global Catastrophe" all showing on Wednesdays in January, beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. Tickets are available on a sliding scale, $0-20. Each talk will start at 7pm, with the film immediately following.

Images Cinema is located at 50 Spring Street, Williamstown.

For the 2023-24 season of Science on Screen, Images developed a new format, presenting a series of talks paired with films tackling deep dives into contemporary scientific and societal challenges. For that pilot season, the theme was "Humans and A.I.: How Will We Coexist?", with each film in the series bringing together two or more academics in dialogue.

While each talk will be unique to each film and the academic focuses of each speaker, all will delve into both the actual scientific probability of such disaster occurring — and if it will occur as depicted in the film — and the veracity of the human responses to directly avoid said catastrophe and/or the psychological/sociological effects of the catastrophe coming to pass.

"We're so thrilled to present our second consecutive season of Science on Screen, thanks to the generous support of The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Coolidge Corner Theatre," said Dan Hudson, executive director of Images Cinema. "This season we dove even deeper in pairing compelling speakers who can bring to light unique aspects of lessons to take from these films, and we're excited to include academics from Bennington College and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts this year."

Images Cinema will close out the season by participating in the National Evening of Science on Screen on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Film and speaker for that screening will be announced at a later date.

Information about films and speakers for this series:

MELANCHOLIA (2011)
Wednesday 1/8/25 at 7pm

Dir. Lars von Trier

Justine and Michael are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire, and brother-in-law John. Despite Claire's best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth…

with Dr. Jeremy A. Cone, Associate Professor of Psychology, Williams College and Dr. Jason E. Young, Visiting Field Memorial Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Williams College

DEEP IMPACT (1998)

Wednesday 1/15/25 at 7pm

Dir. Mimi Loder

A seven-mile-wide space rock is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to obliterate the planet. Now, it's up to the president of the United States to save the world. He appoints a tough-as-nails veteran astronaut to lead a joint American-Russian crew into space to destroy the comet before impact. Meanwhile, an enterprising reporter uses her smarts to uncover the scoop of the century.

with Dr. Phoebe A. Cohen, Professor of Geosciences, Williams College and Dr. David Bond, Associate Director, Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Bennington College

CHILDREN OF MEN (2006)

Wednesday 1/22/25 at 7pm

Dir. Alfonso Cuarón

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

with Dr. Tim J. Lebestky, Associate Professor of Biology, Williams College and Dr. Mohamad Junaid, Associate Professor, Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

SNOWPIERCER (2013)
Wednesday 1/29/25 at 7pm

Dir. Bong Joon-ho

In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.

with Dr. Alice C. Bradley, Assistant Professor of Geosciences, Williams College and Dr. Victoria Papa Associate Professor, English, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

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Williamstown Studying Major Overhaul for Main Street

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Wednesday, July 29, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town is working with a Worcester civil engineering firm to redesign Main Street with an eye toward a major project sometime in the next decade.

Community Development Director Andrew Groff was before the Select Board on Monday night to talk about Town Hall's use of a $500,000 state grant to do preliminary design on major improvements to that portion of Route 2 that runs from Water Street west to the Field Park rotary, through the middle of Williams College's campus.

Groff introduced the elected officials to Amanda Bazinet of Worcester's Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, who is helping the town to develop a plan for Main Street that would align with the commonwealth's Complete Streets Program.

"Our project goals, in addition to the increased pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, is just, in general, improving the sightlines and improving the intersection geometry," Bazinet said.

"Complete Streets … has a lot of different facets to it. As Andrew had mentioned, the goal is to improve the safety for all of the roadway users — not just the motorists. We're looking at improving it for pedestrians, bicyclists, anyone using a mobility device. We want to create streets that are safe for all ages and abilities to use. So, while bicyclists will still be allowed, legally, to use the roadway, we want to look at providing a separate bicycle accommodation along the corridor, whether it's a shared use path along both sides of the streets that is a little more accessible to young children or older people with disabilities to look at all transportation options."

One goal is to encourage "active transportation." The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, who the town hopes one day might fund the construction, has a "healthy transportation policy," Bazinet said.

That MassDOT funding would come through the Transportation Improvement Program, which is managed locally by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The design work underway now is being done with an eye toward going after TIP funding years down the road.

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