EL BESO (THE KISS)
Limited Series
production
Spain
Project in development as part of the 2023-24 Film Study Center Fellowship at Harvard Center
Science fiction turns into reality when the father of neuroscience Santiago Ramón y Cajal wakes up one day in the early 1900s envisioning a future where the human brain has been mapped. This dream inhabited by neuronal forests and microbial cities leads Cajal to the path of discovery of the neuron. He can finally see order in the micro-entanglements of our brains.
The ‘beso protoplasmático” was the original name given to the connection between two neurons. It was dismissed by the scientific community and later coined the synapse.
Archives from Instituto Cajal in Madrid >>
As part of the research phase for The Kiss, I am developing a series of short film based on the writings and life of neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
The father of neuroscience Santiago Ramón y Cajal wakes up one day with magnified vision. Based on the short story "The Corrected Pessimist" by Santiago Ramon y Cajal. Voice over : Carlos Bardem / Brain Images by Jeffrey Lichtman / Animation by Shiv Kachiwala
Synopsis
Science fiction turns into reality when the father of neuroscience Santiago Ramón y Cajal wakes up one day in the early 1900s envisioning a future where the human brain has been mapped. This dream inhabited by neuronal forests and microbial cities leads Cajal to the path of discovery of the neuron. He can finally see order in the micro-entanglements of our brains.
The ‘beso protoplasmático” was the original name given to the connection between two neurons. It was dismissed by the scientific community and later coined the synapse.
Talk at NYUAD Institute - March 21
Over a hundred years ago, Spanish neurobiologist Santiago Ramón y Cajal made groundbreaking discoveries about the structure of the brain. Using the Golgi silver staining technique, he identified a specialized cell type—the neuron—that binds all the matter together. His surreal hand-drawn paintings illustrated how electrical signals were received and transmitted across cerebral time and space. Drawing from his short stories, this talk presents early film experiments to craft a Cajal biopic. Under the working title of "The Kiss," Cajal on screen is a time traveler that reminisces about his past and invokes the future through his dreams and fictions.