Science. Art. Film.: Ruben Brandt, Collector

Dreams and art collide in a surreal theft of the mind in this heist animation. 

The Science. Art. Film. series uncovers the wacky, weird and wonderful facets of science and art in films, with post-screening discussions featuring artists and ANU scholars. In collaboration with ANU and the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science.

2018 | MA 15+ | 96 mins | D: Milorad Krstic

Renowned psychotherapist Ruben Brandt is tormented by violent nightmares in which figures from famous artworks attack him. Convinced the visions are rooted in unresolved trauma, Brandt enlists four of his criminal patients to steal the thirteen paintings that haunt him.

Directed by Milorad Krstić, Ruben Brandt, Collector merges hand‑drawn and digital animation into a cubist, constantly shifting visual field. Paintings by Botticelli, Hopper, Warhol and Picasso bleed into noir thrillers, Bond‑style action and surreal dream logic. The result is an adult animation that treats art not as reverent museum object, but as a living, unstable force capable of obsession, violence and transformation.

‘One of the decade’s most wildly original animated triumphs.’ — Carlos Aguilar, The Playlist

Stay for a post-screening discussion with a modern art specialist - your guide to why figures like Pablo Picasso and his contemporaries continue to haunt the cultural imagination. Also joining the conversation is a science and society scholar exploring how popular culture shapes our fantasies of genius, expertise and the mysterious workings of the mind. The film turns psychology and neuroscience into vivid cultural storytelling, inviting audiences to reflect on how scientific ideas circulate far beyond the laboratory. Don’t miss it!




Special guests
Dr Kate Warren is a Senior Lecturer of Art History and Curatorship at the ANU School of Art & Design. Her research explores various crossovers between art history, visual arts and popular media. Kate's current writing and exhibition projects focus on how twentieth-century Australian art is represented in magazines, television and film. Previously she worked as a visual arts curator, developing film, video and media-based exhibitions at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Channels Video Art Festival, Canberra Museum and Gallery and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

Dr Dan Santos is a Research Fellow at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at ANU. He also works with the UNESCO Chair in Science Communication for the Public Good. His interests span the social, economic and environmental dimensions of emerging biotechnologies, especially questions around innovation, public engagement and openness in science. His research has recently expanded to include biohacking, synthetic biology and stem cells. He is also a film buff and former film reviewer.

Michael Smithson is currently a Professor Emeritus in the School of Medicine and Psychology at The Australian National University. He has contributed to research and theory on judgement and decision-making under uncertainty and ignorance and statistical methods for the social sciences. His background includes degrees in mathematics and sociology. He is the author of 9 books, the most recent being The Psychology of Ignorance (2026, Oxford University Press). His other publications include more than 200 refereed journal articles and book chapters. Michael is a long-term hobby artist and musician. 

Moderator:
Dr Anna-Sophie Jürgens is a Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, ANU. She is also the Head of Popsicule , ANU’s Science in Popular Culture and Entertainment Hub. Dr Jürgens’ research explores cultural meanings of science, the history of (violent) clowns and mad scientists, science and humour, and the interface between science and (public) art.