Scinema (often stylized as SCINEMA) refers to the SCINEMA International Science Film Festival, an annual event based in Australia. It is recognized as the largest science film festival in the Southern Hemisphere and is dedicated to showcasing films that explore scientific themes, discoveries, and the natural world.
The festival was established in 2000 and is currently managed by The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus), a national scientific non-profit organization. Its primary objective is to facilitate public engagement with science through the medium of cinema, providing a platform for filmmakers, scientists, and the public to interact.
The festival typically features a wide range of categories, including feature-length documentaries, short films, animations, and experimental works. It also includes a dedicated category for student filmmakers known as SCINEMA Junior. Entries are evaluated by a panel of judges—composed of experts in both science and film—based on criteria such as cinematic quality, scientific accuracy, and the ability to communicate complex ideas to a general audience.
Key features of the festival include:
- National Screenings: During National Science Week in Australia, a curated selection of the festival's winning and shortlisted films is screened at various locations, including professional theaters and community centers.
- Awards: The festival presents awards in several categories, including Best Film, Best Director, and the Special Jury Award, which recognizes films that demonstrate outstanding scientific merit or innovative storytelling.
- Community Program: Scinema offers a community screening program that allows schools, libraries, and local organizations to register and host their own screenings of festival content, expanding the reach of science communication to regional and remote areas.
The name "Scinema" is a portmanteau derived from the words "science" and "cinema." While it is most prominently associated with the Australian festival, the term is occasionally used generically to describe the intersection of scientific subject matter and cinematic production.