$$Flatland$$: $$The$$ $$Movie$$

By Fernando Q. Gouvêa

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is coming to the screen! Edwin A. Abbott's well-known parable about "many dimensions" has been a staple of mathematics classes for a long time. Reading the book has helped many of us gain a better understanding of how dimensionality works, and perhaps even offered us a glimmer of what a four-dimensional space might be like. Now we'll be able to see it on screen.

Flatland: The Movie will be released this summer. It is a short animated film produced by (what else?) Flat World Productions. The mathematical advisors to the project are Thomas Banchoff, Sarah Greenwald, Jon Farley, and John Benson, who are credited with having provided "mathematical advice/input, helped promote the film, or created supplemental materials." Each of them will produce some commentary that will be available on the DVD. Among the voices to be heard in the movie are those of Martin Sheen and Kristen Bell.

A short trailer and much more information about the project can be found online at http://www.flatlandthemovie.com. There will be a showing of the video at the San Jose MathFest, on Friday, August 3 at 4 p.m. Tom Banchoff will introduce the movie and lead a discussion afterward.