Utica, N.Y. — Be among the first to see “2051: The Return Project,” a film by local producer Dennis Dewey, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, in the Museum of Art’s Sinnott Family–Bank of Utica Auditorium in downtown Utica. The film includes 18 amateur actors from the greater Utica area and was shot on location at MVCC’s Rome campus, SUNY Polytechnic Institute as well as in New Mexico and Madrid, Spain. Admission is $5 for Munson Members and $10 for the general public, and tickets are available at munson.art or by calling 315-797-0055.
In this cautionary tale of the first downloaded brain, Dr. Richard Calbert, a pioneer in brain-computer interface technology, leads a project to digitally preserve the human mind. When he donates his own brain after a terminal diagnosis, his protégé, Dr. Gloria Dennison, becomes the sole link to his consciousness. But life after death proves unsettling. Trapped in a digital existence he cannot escape, Calbert struggles to adapt, raising haunting questions about identity, control, and what it truly means to live forever.
Dewey has lived in Utica for nearly 40 years. A retired Presbyterian minister, former high school English teacher, international tour guide, and professional storyteller, he has performed at venues across the United States and on four other continents. After retiring in 2016, he turned to a long-time hobby of filmmaking and offered his volunteer services to the Oneida County History Center. They have premiered five of his documentaries and posted several of his “history shorts” on YouTube, and he records and edits many of the presentations given there as well. All his filmmaking work is not-for-profit under the umbrella of his one-man production company, Apostasis Films, and seeks to benefit local non-profit organizations.
For more information, visit 2051thereturnproject.com. For media inquiries or more information about the showing at Munson, please contact Katie Voce, communications manager, at 315-797-0000 ext. 2147 or via email at kvoce@munson.art.
Munson is at 310 Genesee St. in Utica. For more information, visit munson.art.
About Munson:
Munson is an internationally recognized fine arts organization in Utica, serving diverse audiences through a renowned Museum of Art, live performances and events, community arts classes, and Pratt Munson College of Art and Design, the upstate extension campus of the prestigious Pratt Institute.
