1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets

Oscar-winning actor and screen legend Sir Ben Kingsley has taken the starring role in a short feature film about the scientific heritage of Muslim civilisation.

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FILM ► 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets

Oscar-winning actor and screen legend Sir Ben Kingsley has taken the starring role in a short feature film about the scientific heritage of Muslim civilisation. The mini-movie, entitled “1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets”, accompanies a global touring exhibition which was previously open to the public at the Science Museum in London.

The film has already been seen by over 22 million people around the world. The 1001 Inventions exhibition completed its record-breaking residency at London’s Science Museum with 400,000 visitors in the first half of 2010, followed by a blockbuster residency at the iconic and historic Sultan Ahmed Square in Istanbul with a further 400,000 visitors over a seven-week period. The exhibition then opened at the New York Hall of Science in December 2010, welcoming an additional 250,000 during its five-month US premiere. More than 500,000 people visited 1001 Inventions at the California Science Center in Los Angeles between May 2011 and March 2012. The next venue for the US tour will be the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC, opening in August 2012.

A bilingual Arabic-English version of the 1001 Inventions exhibition was launched in November 2011 in Abu Dhabi for a five-week residency as part of the unaugural Abu Dhabi Science Festival.

In the movie, Sir Ben takes on the role of a mysterious and cantankerous librarian who takes a group of school children on an enlightening journey to meet pioneering scientists and engineers from the history of Muslim civilisation. The librarian is then revealed to be 12th century engineering genius Al-Jazari.

International Awards:

► Gold Award for Best Education Film (Cannes Film Festival, France, 2010)
► Grand Winner for Best Film (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Gold Winner for Best Film in Society and Social Issues (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Gold Winner for Best Film in Arts and Humanities (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Gold Winner for Best Direction (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Gold Winner for Best Writing (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Gold Winner for Best Film for an Event Venue (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Silver Winner for Best Narration and Performance (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Silver Winner for Best Cinematography (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Finalist Certificate for Best Original Music (New York Film Festivals, 2010)
► Gold Award for Best Education Film (IVCA, London 2010)
► Gold Award for Best Photography (IVCA, London 2010)
► Silver Award for Best Drama (IVCA, London 2010)
► Silver Award for Best Original Music (IVCA, London 2010)
► Grand Winner for Best Education Film (World Media Festival, Hamburg 2010)
► Gold Award for Best Education Film for Schools (World Media Festival, Hamburg 2010)
► Gold Award for Best Education Film (US International Film Festival, Los Angeles 2010)
► Gold Award for Original Music (US International Film Festival, Los Angeles 2010)
► Gold Award for Specialty Production (US International Film Festival, Los Angeles 2010)
► Gold Award for Best Writing (US International Film Festival, Los Angeles 2010)
► Silver Award for Best Direction (US International Film Festival, Los Angeles 2010)

Click here for Cast and Crew credits…

WATCH: What is 1001 Inventions? Dark Ages? 1001 Inventions is a global educational initiative that promotes awareness of a thousand years of scientific and cultural achievements from Muslim civilisation from the 7th century onwards, and how those contributions helped build the foundations of our modern world.

Cem Nizamoglu