“Tech, si gira!” is back, the STEP FuturAbility District film festival

Starting from Thursday 27 February , STEP FuturAbility District (Piazza Adriano Olivetti 1, Milan), as part of the rich programme of in-depth activities on topics related to new technologies, is offering the second edition of “Tech, si gira!”, the film festival of cult films on the world of science fiction and technology.

After the great success of the first edition, which saw the participation of more than 1,200 people and which addressed crucial issues for society such as robotics and artificial intelligence, this year the cycle is enriched with new topics, including climate change and space economy technologies.

With “Tech, si gira!” STEP presents itself as a place where it is possible to investigate the complexity of the technological world also through cinema. After the screening of each film, a debate with the public will follow, moderated by Massimo Temporelli, scientific director and curator of the festival, together with scientists, journalists, academics and communicators. The festival represents a unique opportunity to reflect on the great themes of the technological future and to inspire new stimuli and reflections starting from the contents proposed by the films.

The first screening is scheduled for Thursday, February 27 at 6:30 pm with “The Martian” by director Ridley Scott, who will transport the audience to Mars and to a dimension in which technology and human ingenuity become essential for survival. The film, full of ideas on scientific innovation, resilience and adaptation, will open the debate on space and the future frontiers of space exploration. Amalia Ercoli Finzi, scientist and aerospace engineer, and Adrian Fartade , science communicator, writer and YouTuber will be present and, together, they will explore the technical, social and economic challenges related to humanity's expansion into the cosmos.

The program

Thursday, March 20 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. the appointment is with “ The Iron Giant” , directed by Brad Bird that tells the unlikely friendship between a child and an extraterrestrial robot, in a Cold War context. The film will offer the opportunity to discuss the role of artificial intelligence, technological education and the acceptance of what is new and unknown. With Giulietta Fara , Director of the Future Film Festival and Federico Cella, journalist of Il Corriere della Sera, we will investigate how these themes influence society and the perception of the future. The appointment is in collaboration with 24 Frame Future Fest which, now in its 25th edition, is the first and most important Italian event dedicated to animated cinema, media arts, visual effects, virtual and augmented reality, gaming and artificial intelligence.

Thursday 17 April from 18:30-22:00 it will be the turn of “Siccità”, directed by Paolo Virzì . The audience will enter a scenario in which climate change shapes daily life, pushing science and technology to find extreme and innovative solutions. The film will open a discussion on the water crisis, climate migrations and the technological interventions necessary for a sustainable future. With the climatologist, teacher and author Elisa Palazzi and the explorer and environmental supporter Alex Bellini it will be possible to reflect on how science and politics can collaborate to address urgent environmental challenges.

On Thursday 29 May from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm the screening will be dedicated to “I, Robot”, directed by Alex Proyas, a film that compares artificial intelligence and ethical dilemmas, with a focus on human beings and machines. With Giulia Belgiovine , researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa and Salvatore Majorana , director of Kilometro Rosso, the Innovation District of Bergamo, the themes of robotics, AI and human responsibility in the design of autonomous systems will be explored.

Thursday, June 12 , from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm, it will be the turn of “ Blade Runner” , directed by Ridley Scott , a classic that addresses the nature of identity, memory and artificial consciousness. In a dystopian future, technological implications mix with existential questions. Thanks to the contribution of researcher Carlo Mazzola, researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology and cybersecurity expert and writer Pierguido Iezzi , during the debate we will explore the differences between human and artificial and the risk of social manipulation in the era of technological surveillance.

Thursday 11 September , from 7pm to 10pm STEP presents the documentary film “Apollo 11” , directed by Todd Douglas Miller . The screening takes the audience back to the era of the great space conquests, between visionary impulses and technical avant-garde, highlighting how the experience of the space race has influenced our society, innovation and international cooperation. With the journalist and space economy expert Emilio Cozzi and the astrophysicist Simonetta Di Pippo , we will discuss the meaning of space exploration today, the commercial challenges and the technological implications of the new era of extraterrestrial flight.

Thursday, October 23 , from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm, the appointment is with the science fiction film “ Matrix” , directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski. The film, in addition to exploring the relationship between technology and humanity, combines elements of cyberpunk, philosophy, and action to take the viewer into a dystopian universe where reality is an illusion generated by machines that have taken control. Matrix not only amazes with innovative visual effects and a complex narrative, but raises profound questions about the essence of existence and the relationship between man and technology. The screening will be followed by a debate with Michele Rho , director and screenwriter, and Cristina Pozzi , CEO and Co-Founder of Edulia, an Italian edu.tech hub for formal and informal education.

Thursday, November 6 , from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., “ Minority Report” is scheduled, directed by Steven Spielberg , a world in which the advanced crime prediction system challenges free will, offering the opportunity to debate predictive artificial intelligence, surveillance and protection of individual rights. The participation in the debate of the computer engineer and professor Federico Cabitza and the director of Italian Tech Federico Ferrazza , will be essential to understand how prevention and control can coexist without sacrificing personal freedom.

Finally, on Thursday 4 December , from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, the appointment is with “ I, Daniel Blake”, directed by Ken Loach . The story of the protagonist, struggling with a digitalized bureaucracy distant from human reality, makes us reflect on the risks of technological exclusion and the digital divide. It will be possible to open a debate on the topics with some members of the STEP Scientific Committee Roberta Cocco, Sergio Scalpelli and Marco Bentivogli and with Engineer Guido Arnone , Chief Technology Officer of the Municipality of Milan, on how digital transformation can and must be at the service of people, ensuring inclusion and dignity for all.