DETROIT – Nearly 50 years since its debut, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is still considered a masterpiece.

Fans will have the chance to watch Steven Spielberg’s science fiction drama on the big screen on April 6, when Cinema Detroit kicks off its new educational film series, Science on Screen.

“We’re pairing screenings of classic, cult, science fiction and documentary films with presentations by experts from the world of science and technology,” said Paula Guthat, co-founder and programmer at Cinema Detroit.

A one-time special screening of Spielberg’s 1977 classic – starring Richard Dreyfuss in the lead role – will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, at the eclectic arthouse, located south of the Wayne State University campus at 4126 Third Street in Detroit.
 

Entitled “Close Encounters and the Technology of the Self”, the evening will feature a post-screening presentation by Hunter Tuinstra, a graduate teaching assistant and Ph.D. candidate in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State.

In the movie, Dreyfuss’s character finds his life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO. His obsession takes him on a cross-country journey for answers as a decisive event nears.

Tuinstra will present some examples of UFO abductions and sightings — including some from Michigan — and their common themes. He will discuss why humanity is so interested in UFOs and explain how the concept of technology of the self — the transformations through which people seek higher states of being — operates in the film and in real life.

“The film will be used as a jumping-off point for the speaker to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages popular culture audiences,” Guthat said.

The post-show presentation will run 20 to 30 minutes.

Tickets can be purchased in advance on the Cinema Detroit website. Free parking is available next to the theater.