SYNOPSIS

SHORT:
A young graduate student explores the connections between fruit flies, science and New York city.

MEDIUM:
While to many a simple fruit fly is a nuisance in the kitchen, to a graduate student Alexis working in a genetics lab, the fruit fly is a drastically different beast. Through the microscope, the magnified fruit fly is both monstrous and beautiful. Armed with a vial of fruit flies, Alexis sets on a quest to understand the intimate relationship between science, creativity and the city.

LONG:
Yeasts, worms, fruit flies … to most people, these beastly animals roam around rotten fruit in the kitchen or are used to bake pound cake for the holidays. For scientists however, these creatures are powerful model organisms that have been the pioneers in advancing the field of genetics. In the last 100 years, they have led to incredible scientific breakthroughs in understanding human development, behavior and neurobiology.

Alexis has been studying for about 2 years in a fruit fly genetics lab in New York City and decides to embark on a fruit fly adventure around New York City. Armed with a vial of fruit flies, Alexis asks both young scientists and by-passers in a downtown farmer’s market about what a fruit fly reminds them of. Through this quest, the fruit fly symbolizes the gap between the perception of science inside and outside of the laboratory. The air travel of the fly from the lab into the street evokes the need to bridge the gap and communicate science to the public.

A Fruit Fly in New York is a 12-minute flight over New York City, the laboratory and the history of fruit fly research. Beyond the informational content, the film also explores the personal rapport that a scientist may have with his model organism as a painter may have with his canvas. Through the microscope lens, the fruit fly appears human-like – a monstrously beautiful animal that has sacrificed itself in the pursuit of science.

PRODUCTION CREDIT LIST

Title: A FRUIT FLY IN NEW YORK
Running Time: 12minutes

Directed by: Alexis Gambis
Editor: Alexis Gambis
Assistant Editor: Samara Brown
Original Music Composed by: Daniel Wohl
Additional Credit Music by: The Fruit Fly, Let Go 2003 — Nada Surf

Union Square Farmer’s Market
Camera Operator: Gabi Kozak
Boom Operator 1: Percy Munoz
Boom Operator 2: Lea Schell

Laboratory Set (Steller Lab, The Rockefeller University, HHMI)
Camera Operator 1: Stephanie Maceiras
Camera Operator 2: Diego Redard

Produced at The New York Film Academy (NYFA)
April 2007

Thank you to: all interviewees: Sofia Axel, Maya Bader, Tirtha Das, Chris Gafuik, Jennifer Mehren, Maurizio Pellegrino

Special Thanks to: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Steller Laboratory of Apoptosis and Cancer, The Rockefeller University, New York Public Radio (NPR), Naked Scientist Nature Podcast, Lance Gambis, Stephanie Maceiras, Daniel Wohl, and Samara Brown.

Dedicated to: Lupita et Goro