TONIGHT: ICTP at Trieste Science+Fiction Festival

The story of the mathematician Évariste Galois heralds the opening of the 2017 Trieste Science+Fiction Festival. The romantic legend of an absolute prodigy of mathematics, who was killed at a very young age during a fatal duel on 29 May 1832, comes to life in a documentary film by Giuseppe Mussardo and Diego Cenetiempo, produced by the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) and ICTP.

By blending the biographical and the creative, the film tells of the beginning of an  extraordinary scientific adventure made up of profound intuitions, which were  unappreciated at the time but which were to change the face of mathematics and physics over the following two centuries. The Italian première of “Galois. Story of a revolutionary mathematician” will be presented on Friday 27 October at 6.30pm at the Ariston cinema.

Giuseppe Mussardo, professor of theoretical physics and director of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory at SISSA, and author of the movie, says of the documentary film: "Évariste Galois is an absolutely extraordinary figure. He completely revolutionized mathematics with an idea which for a long time nobody understood and which instead subsequently turned out to be the key to understanding all of nature’s secrets. This documentary film combines the narrative and scientific aspects, availing itself of guests from the world of science of the highest calibre, including two Fields medal winners and several physicists from CERN."

ICTP Director Fernando Quevedo adds, "ICTP believes in the importance of promoting science and maths to as wide an audience as possible. We congratulate Professor Mussardo on his important film highlighting the life of a truly remarkable mathematician."

The Italian première will take place before the opening of the 2017 Trieste Science+Fiction Festival on Friday the 27th of October at 6.30 pm at the Ariston cinema. Science journalist Fabio Pagan will present the screening. The event is free and open to the public. Booking is recommended.

The seventeenth Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, organised by La Cappella Underground, will be held from the 31st of October to the 5th of November 2017. “Galois. Story of a revolutionary mathematician” will be the first of four films dedicated to science to be shown as part of the festival.

Booking requests should be sent to segreteriadirezione@sissa.it.

Further reading on Galois from the ICTP Library can be found here.

Related links:

• Pressbook: https://goo.gl/hEu846
• Trailer: https://vimeo.com/235345915