Science on Screen® at The Frida Cinema: THE NEVERENDING STORY Presentation by Dr. Kirsten Read

"Unlocking Minds: The Power of Shared Reading in Childhood Development"
A Science on Screen® presentation by Dr. Kirsten Read
The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA | June 20, 2024

In 2024, The Frida Cinema (thefridacinema.org/) was proud to be selected as a recipient of the SCIENCE ON SCREEN® grant, a nationwide film program established the COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE and the ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION with the mission to enhance film and scientific literacy. Since its inception in 2005, this pioneering program has expended to 96 cinemas nationwide, whose participation involves the pairing of classic, cult, science fiction, and documentary films with lively presentations by notable experts from the world of science and technology. Each film is used as a jumping-off point for a speaker to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages popular culture audiences—from the function of the amygdala in the zombie brains of Night of the Living Dead to how far epidemiology has come since The Andromeda Strain.

On Thursday, June 20th, The Frida Cinema welcomed DR. KIRSTEN READ, Associate Professor of Psychology at Santa Clara University, to speak before a screening of 1984 fantasy classic THE NEVERENDING STORY. Her presentation, "Unlocking Minds: The Power of Shared Reading in Childhood Development," was presented via Skype with moderator Atalia Lopez, Frida Cinema board member.

We thank Dr. Read, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Atalia Lopez, and Warner Bros. Pictures for their support in making this event possible.

ABOUT SCIENCE ON SCREEN

The Coolidge Corner Theatre’s Science on Screen series has enhanced film and scientific literacy with this popular program, which launched at the Coolidge in 2005. In partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and its pioneering nationwide film program, the Coolidge has expanded Science on Screen to 96 cinemas nationwide. Throughout the academic year, SoS creatively pairs screenings of classic, cult, science fiction, and documentary films with lively presentations by notable experts from the world of science and technology. Each film is used as a jumping-off point for a speaker to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages popular culture audiences.
scienceonscreen.org/

ABOUT DR. KIRSTEN READ

Kirsten Read, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Santa Clara University who teaches courses on child development and publishes research on the language and learning benefits from shared storybook reading with young children.

ABOUT OUR MODERATOR

Atalia Lopez is an Australian transplant, Letterboxd devotee, and Frida Cinema board member. She teaches classes on the intersection of film, literature, and the urban environment at Chapman University, and is proudly responsible for exposing hundreds of students to David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Atalia completed her undergraduate studies in literature at Chapman University and holds a master’s degree from the University of Oxford. You may also know her as the host of The Frida’s monthly Film Trivia Nights, where she invented the “fourth round stretch.”

The Frida Cinema was founded in 2014 with the mission to enrich, connect, and educate communities through the art of cinema. Learn more at
thefridacinema.org/.