SYNOPSIS

An award winning documentary about the godfather of bioart who sends vaginal contractions into deep-space to communicate with aliens; encodes Greek poetry into transgenic organisms and travels the world exploring the inextricable connections between art, science and the physical world. Joe Davis enlists the collaboration of some of the great minds of MIT and Harvard to help us find our place in the universe. The renowned art critic James Elkins has said of him: "to my mind the most interesting living artist...". Enjoy a wild ride from laboratory to bar room and back again in this film that reminds us that anything is possible. Featuring the music of Do.Make.Say.Think.

FROM THE DIRECTOR / Peter Sasowsky

I first saw Joe Davis at a bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the late 1990s and he was twirling around on his peg-leg, giving a young woman the dance of her life. He fell hard on the ground, but got up, smiling. At that moment, I did not know - nor would have believed - what he does in his working life. I was simply drawn to a pureness of spirit that I sensed was present in him.

In the years that followed, I have traveled with him to Portugal, Germany, France, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Sweden, Canada, as well as all over the United States in order to understand his life and his work. He has created a particular type of artistic freedom for himself that is instructive and, at times, inspirational, but one that comes at a great cost.

He has been called the "Father of Bio-art" for his pioneering work with transgenic organisms. He has been featured on Nightline, in Scientific American, and has collaborated with some of the greatest minds in contemporary science. But that is not why I made this film.

What good art does is shape our perception of the world. The artists who offer the greatest leaps of imagination are often the least understood - at least within their lifetimes. It is not for me to say whether or not Joe is one of those pioneers. What I do know is that he offers a unique contribution to the discussion of what it means to be human.