When I think of origami, my mind tends not to wander much further than paper cranes. But then, I’m not Erik Demaine (erikdemaine.org), the world’s leading origami theorist.

Yes, the world’s leading origami theorist. Demaine, a MacArthur Fellow and MIT professor, is just one of the many fascinating individuals profiled in the new film Against the Fold. Though at first glance this may appear to be one of those documentaries you’d just assume miss, you’d be missing out. I’ll resist the urge to tell you all that unfolds (that’s a bad attempt at a pun). Suffice it to say the film weaves together the stories and explorations of artists, mathematicians and physicists who share a fascination with the infinite potential of a single, flat sheet of paper.

PAPER SCULPTURE BY CHRIS K. PALMER EXPERIMENTING WITH MOVEMENT AND LIGHT

In her director’s statement, Vanessa Gould explains the challenges of creating a film of ideas: “When I first learned about the strange phenomenon of artists, scientists and mathematicians from all over the world working in the very same medium of origami, I knew there had to be something special about it—that in the simplicity of a square must be hiding some untold potential for creativity and new ideas.”

EXPRESSIVE FRENCH MASTER ERIC JOISEL HAS A MOMENT OF INSPIRATION ON CAMERA

The film’s Website is greenfusefilms.com. The documentary will air on PBS stations nationally on December 22, 2009.

[All images courtesy Green Fuse Films at http://www.greenfusefilms.com/presskit.html]