2.1.2020 - 2021

Excerpts from Navajo Math Circles are being shown at the special exhibition, "Pattern and Disruption: Diné Lifeways and Embedded Mathematics," at Ohio University's Kennedy Museum of Art through February 2021. The exhibition explores weaving design from the perspective of Diné (Navajo) traditions and beliefs, and how fundamental mathematical ideas are also embedded in the designs. Museum staff worked closely with Dr. Bob Klein of Ohio University, Dr. Henry of Navajo Technical University in Crown Point, AZ, and Sally Fowler, Henry's mother and a weaver, to develop the exhibit. Fowler and Klein met through their work on Navajo Math Circles, collaborations between mathematicians, students and teachers in the Navajo Nation.

6.8.2020

A Nature Magazine review of Secrets of the Surface by Davide Castelvecchi is titled "Stirring biopic of the first woman to win top maths prize: Maryam Mirzakhani, Fields medalist and Iranian national hero, is celebrated in an elegant documentary." The reviewer says the film "strikes a satisfying balance between [Mirzakhani's] magnificent mathematics and her human story, including her untimely death from cancer in 2017, at the age of 40." The British weekly scientific journal notes that Producer/Director George Csicsery "has carved a niche as a maker of compelling films about mathematicians, starting with the brilliant 1993 N is a Number on Paul Erdős, the most productive mathematician of the modern era and a perennial couchsurfer. Csicsery's latest work celebrates the importance of female role models by showing the impact of Mirzakhani's short but extraordinary life ..."

5.30.2020

Secrets of the Surface will screen at the Iranian Film Festival of Zurich (link to IFFZ Facebook page) on Saturday, May 30, from 5 to 6 p.m. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, this year's online festival (May 28 - June 3) is organized as a platform for presenting Iranian culture and tradition and for building a bridge between different cultures through the universal language of art. (Access is from inside Switzerland at iranianfilmfestival.ch.)

5.12.2020

A special screening of Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani will be hosted by The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences on Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT). The screening will include a "watch party" on Twitter and an online panel discussion and audience Q&A. Moderator of the panel is Kumar Murty, Director of The Fields Institute. Panelists are George Csicsery, Producer / Director, Zala Films; Diana Davis, Visiting Assistant Professor, Swarthmore College; Ingrid Daubechies, Professor, Duke University; and Kasra Rafi, Professor, University of Toronto. Register for the online event here. You can follow the event on Twitter with #FilmswithFields.

5.12.2020

Zala Films is supporting the May 12th initiative, which each year brings together virtual or local events celebrating women in mathematics. Due to COVID-19 (and by special agreement with Zala Films), individuals and organizations between April 1 and May 19, 2020, may access our film about the life and work of the Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani. (You can make a request for screening authorization here.)

The goal of the May 12 initiative is to inspire women everywhere to celebrate their achievements in mathematics, and to encourage an open, welcoming and inclusive work environment for everyone. Read more about the events here.

3.15.2020

Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani screens at Concordia University's J.A. de Sève Cinema, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal, on Sunday, March 15, at 5 p.m. Screening sponsors are Concordia University, ISM, Centre de Recherches Mathematiques, MSRI and Zala Films.

3.9.20

George Csicsery will present a sample clip from his film Angel of Mercy at the 50th Annual Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches at the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. The presentation will be part of the "Revisiting History" session on March 9 at 4 p.m. Click here for the conference program (pdf).

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