MUNIC: Cinema as a bridge between science and society

The National Exhibition of Scientific Images, MUNIC 2025, is celebrating its tenth anniversary, consolidating its position as a vital space for scientific dissemination in Mexico. This year, the festival will present its programming at 14 venues in Mexico City from September 18 to October 19, with the goal of building bridges between science, culture, and the community, as announced by the exhibition's director, Roxana Eisenmann, at a press conference.

"It's a commitment to bringing scientific knowledge closer to home. Its programming doesn't just convey data or discoveries; it awakens curiosity, encourages critical thinking, and shows that science is also part of our everyday lives. On the other hand, cinema also opens the door to new questions, to scientific vocations, and also to perspectives that find in science fertile ground for telling stories," he added.

The tenth edition of MUNIC will also feature a tribute to Martha Duhne Backhauss, a pioneer of scientific outreach in Mexico. Duhne, who has dedicated her life to this work in print and audiovisual media, highlighted the importance of her work. “When I started outreaching, it was very difficult to convince people that it was necessary to talk about science; we science communicators were Martians (…) But in the wake of COVID, the importance of science communicators became very clear. We needed to know what the hell that tiny bug was in a simple but precise way,” she added, adding that her passion for science stems from “the beauty of understanding” the world around us.

Innovation and expansion

MUNIC 2025 introduces several new features that reflect its growth. For the first time, the event will feature a guest country: Chile. This country will present HOLA FLINKO, a series of animated capsules aimed at early childhood that seeks to raise awareness about endangered animals through music and art.

In addition, the festival is expanding its offerings with a new category of short films produced by children and young people. "This seeks to foster interest in science among younger generations, a key audience for the exhibition," said Eisenmann. To this end, the festival has explored formats such as animation, which have proven to be highly attractive to children.

A support network, key to expansion

Institutional collaboration has been essential to the success of the exhibition. Representing the Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE), Amaranta Navarro emphasized the institution's pride in supporting a project "that has distinguished itself by having a unique approach, demonstrating that there are multiple ways to approach cinema."

Thanks to the support of the Mexican Film Promotion (Focine) call for proposals, MUNIC 2025 will not only be present in Mexico City but will also reach the states of Estado de México, Campeche, and Morelos, contributing to expanding knowledge and strengthening the role of film as a tool for dialogue and social transformation. Navarro also highlighted the inclusion of the short film "La pelota es el Sol" (The Ball is the Sun), by filmmaker Yumiret Callegos, as an example of the talent promoted by Focine.

This is a multidisciplinary project because, in addition to the exhibition, it includes workshops, master classes, tributes, and discussions. MUNIC 2025 is made possible with the support of Imcine, the Trust for the Promotion and Development of Mexican Cinema in Mexico City (Procine), the UNAM Film Library, the South Californian Institute of Culture, the Northwest Biological Research Center (Sibnor), TV UNAM, and the Spanish Association of Scientific Film and Images.

A festival with a purpose

Abril Alzaga, director of Procine, the institution supporting the project, emphasized that support for MUNIC goes beyond the economic. "It's a commitment to bringing scientific knowledge closer to the public through emotion, imagination, and the narrative power of cinema." Alzaga emphasized the festival's mission to democratize knowledge and reach communities with educational gaps, demonstrating that science and culture are not separate spheres but rather mutually enrich each other.

“Spaces like MUNIC are essential because they help us translate the complex, look at the world with different questions, and recognize that science and culture are not separate spheres, but rather interact and enrich each other.”

For his part, Jorge Martínez Micher, deputy director of the UNAM Film Library, the festival's main venue, also highlighted the importance of showcasing films in theaters, although he acknowledged that digital platforms are also essential for making them accessible to a wider audience. "Cinema is cinema thanks to science, and we must make room for these topics," he stated.

This year's winner in the Women in Science category, Luisa Cantú Ríos, will be honored with the special "Marco Julio Linares Quintero In Memoriam" award. "This category, which was created to highlight the work of women scientists in Mexico, has been a great success, demonstrating the talent and dedication of women in a field where they are often overlooked," concluded Roxana Eisenmann.