HOW I BECAME A FUTURE CRITIC AND
SCIENCE FICTION EVANGELIST
“Moon” was my first word (“Ya-Re-Akh” in Hebrew). My mom tells me I was 7 months old, on the Tel-Aviv beach promenade and I was looking excitedly at the night sky, pointing at... the Moon. That was my first step in a journey of exploration, inspiration and awe. The second step was a foray into the world of Star Trek (age 5, to this day) and then all manner of science fiction, soon thereafter came a fascination with space, scientific research, tech innovation, alongside history, philosophy, ethics, politics, speculative creativity and utopian thinking.
Over time fascination transformed into professional occupation, and I became a futures critic and science fiction evangelist.
At Utopia, Israel's International Festival for Science Fiction and Fantastic Film (which I co-founded and direct), we merge an international film festival (established in 2005) with an events program emphasizing the mutual inspiration between science and science fiction and the social and philosophical impact of speculative thought – academic conferences, public science talks, tech meetups, workshops, art exhibits etc.
More about Utopia here, or on the Utopia Festival website.
I’m fascinated and awed with "disruptive" technologies, their societal impacts and ethical implications; I find inspiration, wonder and hope in scientific research, space exploration and science fiction creativity, and the impact and importance of story-telling in capturing our common imagination.
Some of my published ideas (talks, articles) can be found here.
I manage, coordinate and produce creative projects, curate programs, speak and moderate at various events along these lines of interest.
