While mathematics may not seem like an obvious muse for storytelling, it is the language of the universe: a scaffolding that shapes how we understand the world around us and underpins all scientific research.
Last month, researchers at the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute and New York City–based filmmakers paired up to co-create five unique, experimental short films inspired by math. The films, created as part of the Symbiosis initiative, premiered on Monday, April 27, at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film in Tribeca. You can now stream the films here.
Originally developed by Labocine founder Alexis Gambis, Symbiosis pairs filmmakers with researchers to create short films over two weeks. Symbiosis ran as an independent project for several years before partnering with the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture (SSC) division in 2025.
This year’s films align with the Simons Foundation’s Infinite Sums initiative, which celebrates the “beauty of mathematics” and the fundamental role of math in culture and scientific discovery. Participants were challenged to view aspects of their own work through a mathematical lens and consider how they might be expressed through film.
For computational biophysicist Sonya Hanson and filmmaker partner Diego Murillo, this meant exploring the extreme survival limits of the microscopic tardigrade (also known as the water bear), which can endure dehydration by reducing its water content to less than 1 percent and dropping its metabolism to near zero. Together, they translated the story of this biological phenomenon and the mathematics involved to the big screen.
Symbiosis launched in March with a mixer for researchers and filmmakers to learn more about each other’s work and explore commonalities. Participants were then paired up, followed by a two-week production period. A midpoint lab session allowed pairs to share updates and get feedback from the rest of the cohort. The final products resulted from true cooperative partnerships, with the process as important as the resulting films.
Symbiosis is an offering of SSC’s Researcher Engagement program, which supports researchers in exploring creative ways to share their work and engage new audiences through collaborative, interdisciplinary storytelling.
In the coming weeks, each film and filmmaker-scientist duo will be highlighted on the Simons Foundation and Infinite Sums websites, as well as across our social channels. Links to the films, including brief descriptions and credits, are below.
