ABSTRACT
Sergei M. Eisenstein climbed to the podium of the All-Union Creative Conference of Soviet Film Workers, January 1935, with the purpose of convincing the Soviet film society that he held the keys to a successful art-science research program for Soviet cinema. From this platform in the Great Hall of the Bolshoi Theater, Eisenstein envisioned an interdisciplinary synthesis of universal knowledge. Eisenstein’s position was however both peculiar and contradictory. This internationally recognized author of Battleship Potemkin (1925) had channeled his creative energy into the domain of theoretical thinking, which he was eager to share and receive acknowledgment for (Bulgakowa 1998, 147-163). However, he was speaking to a crowded hall filled with hostile filmmakers and film critics. Many explicitly uttered their disapproval of Eisenstein’s interest in theoretical work, accusing him of having abandoned the practice of film (Bulgakowa 1998, 168-176; Seton 1978, 329-350). This speech provoked a conflict of ideas between creative practice and research, and could be regarded as a point of no return for Eisenstein. He had set his foot on the research-based path, upon which he was to walk very much alone.1 Similarly, regarding my own explorations in the cross-disciplinary fields of neurocinematics, I too have received the most furious criticism from my fellow artists. Yet, the focus here will be on my collaboration with scientists, who welcomed my points of view and practice with curiosity and enthusiasm.
