The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios, in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the American Museum of the Moving Image.

Science on Screen is an ongoing film series, started in 2017, that combines special screenings and conversations with scientists and filmmakers to offer new perspectives on film and scientific subject matter. The selection spans the silent era to new releases, including shorts, documentaries, and features. The series has presented the work of such filmmakers as Isabella Rossellini, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Barbara Hammer, and Alex Rivera, who have discussed topics including marine ecosystems, reproductive biology, epidemiology, and artificial intelligence with scientists such as Fabien Cousteau, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, and Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello.  

Science on Screen also presents a selection of films at MoMI’s annual First Look Festival, which has included the North American Premiere of Sasha Litvintseva and Beny Wagner’s Constant, Jenny Perlin’s Bunker, Terra Long’s Feet in Water, Head on Fire, and more.  

Thematic seasons of Science on Screen have included “Proceed with Caution,” showcasing films and speakers focused on public health; “Outer Space Speculators,” which featured films from as early as 1925 set in outer space but grounded in scientific research of their time; and “Extinction and Otherwise,” with scripted and non-scripted films that depict extinction, survival, and life as it might be. 

Science on Screen is organized by Sonia Epstein, Curator of Science & Technology and Executive Editor, Sloan Science & Film.  

Made possible with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.