Simons Foundation Presents: A Look Behind the Lens

Simons Foundation, Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium, 160 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010

*Please note that the entrance is on W 21st St between 5th and 6th Aves*

The Symbiosis program brings together researchers at the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute and New York–based filmmakers and moving-image artists to co-create original, research-driven short films. The program encourages bold experimentation, interdisciplinary storytelling and the exploration of ideas and experiences.

For the 2026 edition, Symbiosis joins the Simons Foundation’s Infinite Sums national math initiative, which celebrates the beauty of mathematics. Over the course of two weeks this April, five researcher-filmmaker duos will dive into the math underlying scientific phenomena — from the hidden symmetries of galaxies down to the emergent patterns of systems of many quantum particles. Their collaborations will reveal how math is both a fundamental element of the universe’s beauty and a key driver of scientific knowledge and discovery.

Join us for a special screening of one of the five new films and a behind-the-scenes conversation with its co-creators, who won’t be revealed until the event. Moderated by filmmaker and Labocine founder Alexis Gambis, the conversation will explore the creators’ personal experiences, creative process and the inspirations that shaped their collaboration.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Flatiron Institute Researcher, Simons Foundation

NYC Filmmaker

Conversation Moderator: Gambis is a filmmaker and biologist who founded Labocine — a research and streaming platform home to the Science New Wave, a movement reimagining science through cinema. He holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Rockefeller University and an MFA in film from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. His work blends fiction and documentary, often through magical realism, and dissects identity, the scientific process and multispecies perspectives through hybrid and experimental forms.