Reel Science: Nocturnes at the Long Center

In the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas, moths are whispering something to us.

Nocturnes, winner of the 2024 World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft, follows two curious observers as they shine a light on this secret universe. Together, they are on an expedition to decode these nocturnal creatures in a remote ecological “hot spot” on the border of India and Bhutan. The result is a deeply immersive film that transports audiences to a rarely seen place and urges us all to look more closely at the hidden interconnections of the natural world.

Arrive early to enjoy pre-film screening activities:

• Make Texas native wildflower seedballs with Texas Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Club. Moths are nocturnal pollinators and are major players in pollination. October is the perfect time to plant Texas native wildflower seeds and provide a sustainable food source for these unsung pollinators.
• Learn more about moths with a display from the UT Entomology Collection which is home to over 500,000 specimens, with concentrations in Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).

Join a conversation after the film with University of Texas at Austin entomologists, who will take questions from the audience.

5:30 pm — Pre-event interactive activities

7:00 pm — Nocturnes screening

8:25 pm — Discussion and audience Q&A with UT entomology experts

Each event in the Reel Science series features an in-person presentation and a science-themed documentary from Sandbox Films, the Oscar-nominated production studio that illuminates the art and beauty of scientific inquiry: humankind’s weird, messy, brilliant way of navigating the world.