Donders Institute at the InScience film festival

News item

From 16 to 19 March the InScience International Science Film Festival Nijmegen will take place. It is one of the biggest science film festivals in Europe. The programme consists of the best science films of the year with talks, film debates, Q&A’s, meetings, and expositions on the cutting edge of science and art. During the festival you will also get a glimpse of the research that is being conducted by scientists of the Donders Institute for brain, cognition, and behaviour.

Main film: Theatre of thought

In Theatre of Thought, Werner Herzog shows us a mysterious landscape: the human brain. How is it possible that this organ creates deep thoughts and feelings? He delves deep into the world of modern neurotechnology in search of the philosophical, ethical, and social consequences of scientific progress.

Together with Stephanie Forkel, InScience invites you to take a look at the brain – close-up and personal. In an interactive way, she will demonstrate how the brain processes information and how damage to the brain interrupts these processes. This is followed by a hands-on session where every visitor is invited to navigate through the brain and followed its connections.

The film is on Saturday 18 March 21:45 (more information).

InScience Experiments: festivaltrailer

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Film: Rise of the planet of the apes

Animal Testing—A Necessary Evil? Will medical innovation decline without laboratory animals or can we get by with alternatives such as cultured mini organs? Judith Homberg works to improve the lives of laboratory animals. Prior to the film, she will talk to animal ethicist Frans Stafleu from Utrecht University.

This film is on Saturday 18 March 21:45 (more information).

Tinder with avatars

During InScience we let the audience experience how scientific research is done. Scientists conduct research during the festival in which scientific imagination is central. Scientists are increasingly using Virtual Reality in their research. But what do you think of those virtual characters? In this playful experiment, a team from the Max Planck Institute and the Donders Institute investigates the relationship between real and digital people. Watch videos of avatars and rate how understandable, likeable, and human they are.

This demonstration is on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March from 13:00 – 17:00 (more information).

Amazing Discoveries Stage

Lennart Verhagen and Brittany van Beek will demonstrate neuromodulation with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) at the Amazing Discoveries Stage. They will show the basics of TMS, elicit hand-motor responses, and show interference with ongoing movements. They will also discuss the potential benefits of this method for the treatment of cognitive disorders. The goal here is to offer an informative and engaging experience for all attendees.

You will find this demonstration at the Amazing Discoveries Stage on Sunday from 13:00 – 18:00 (more information).

More information about the InScience festival can be found on their website:

Contact information

Organizational unit
Donders Centre for Cognition, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour