137 Films is a non-profit documentary production company based in Chicago. We create films out of the stories found in the world of science and strive to entertain, educate, and inform by exploring how science's search for answers impacts our cultural, political, and personal lives.
We believe in science. This doesn't make us fundamental supporters of individual institutions, scientists, or theories. Rather, we believe these, like any other entity, should be subjected to the scientific method including skepticism, experimenting, testing, transparency, and constant reevaluation.
As science fans, we realized the volume of stories in the world of science that regularly go overlooked. Discoveries are made that change our understanding of the universe while politics and cultural values alternately rail against or embrace them. In the meantime, scientists struggle to balance their everyday lives with their obsessions and passions.
We portray science as a source of beauty and meaning, placing it within the context of the everyday world rather than depicting it as an opaque, unquestioning source of answers. Our subject and characters derive their identities, in part, from their search to understand and satisfy their curiosity, but they also derive pleasure from their pursuits. This enjoyment and sense of wonder are critical to our depiction of how science affects the lives of people.
What do we make of all of this? Hopefully compelling movies that can change people and the world for the better.
If you would like to support what we are doing, there are a number of ways you can do so.