Nature’s IQ, a documentary film written, produced and directed by ISKCON devotee Krishna-Lila Dasi (Krisztina Danka, PhD) has been successfully premiered in her native Hungary and will get its US premiere on October 30th.

The fifty-eight-minute film is based on a 2002 book of the same name by Hungarian ISKCON devotees and scholars Isvara Krishna Das (István Tasi) and Bhagavat-priya Das (Balázs Hornyánszky).

The colorful narrative presents one hundred incredible instinctive behaviors in the animal kingdom which challenge Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

The film received its Hungarian Premiere on September 18th, just as the third edition of the Nature’s IQ book—which has already sold tens of thousands of copies—was released.

The premiere’s venue, the prestigious Urania National Movie Theater in Budapest, was completely sold out ten days before the event.

Nearly 500 people—mostly paying members of the general public, along with media, crew members and their families—packed into the plush theater, which was built in the 1880s and resembles a Rajasthani palace.

People arriving at the Nature’s I.Q. premiere on September 18th.

After viewing the film, the audience was treated to a forty-five-minute panel discussion presented by Hungarian TV personality Gabriella Lorincz, with director Krishna-lila, co-producer Mark DeGasperi, and contributing scholars Istvan Tasi and Dr. Ferenc Farkas.

“The interesting thing about Dr. Farkas is that he’s not a religious person at all,” says Krishna-lila. “He came to the conclusion that Darwin’s theory doesn’t make any sense solely through materialistic science. This of course adds credit to our film, showing that it’s an academic exploration rather than a religious agenda. And he is not the only one like that in the film. I myself come from an academic background, and my job as the film’s director was to make sure that all the examples and reasoning presented were scientifically verifiable.”

The panel discussion was followed by a series of interviews for national television and print media.

“After the premiere, a lot of people approached me to tell me how much they loved the film,” Krishna-lila says. “Some just liked the beautiful nature footage. But many said the film had inspired them to really start thinking about alternatives to evolutionary theory, which they had always just taken for granted.”

Krishna-lila says getting people to think and ask questions is all she’s looking for.

A full house at the European premiere of Nature’s I.Q.

“We’re not offering any ultimate answers,” she explains. “We’re just raising questions, and giving viewers several alternatives to contemplate.”

So far, Nature’s IQ has been very well-received in Hungary. Since its premiere, the film has received three other screenings at the Urania on September 26th and 30th and October 3rd, all of which have sold out. This month, fifteen other theaters will add it to their schedule, with a total of 108 screenings altogether.

What’s more, eighty-five per cent of feedback about the film has been positive.

The fifteen per cent negative feedback, meanwhile, mostly comes from evolutionary scientists who haven’t even seen the film and reject and mock the idea of questioning evolution without even considering any conflicting evidence.

It will be interesting to see the reaction in the USA, where Nature’s IQ is set to premiere on October 30th at New York University’s Kimmel Center.

Michael Cremo talks about scientific paradigms on the big screen.

“We chose to have the first screening there to honor NYU’s contribution to the documentary—I learned how to make films there, and the co-producer Mark DeGasperi teaches screenwriting there,” Krishna-lila says.

The US premiere will start at 6:30pm. Like the Budapest event, it will also feature a panel discussion and Q&A, with Krishna-lila, Mark DeGasperi, Nature’s IQ book author Isvara Krishna Das, and Drutakarma Das (Michael Cremo), a scholar who is interviewed in the film.

Admittance to the event will be free, although registration is required.

Following the premiere, Nature’s IQ will also be shown in a number of different universities and other educational institutions along the East Coast of the US.

Meanwhile, the film-makers are negotiating with Hungarian television networks Ozone, TV2 and Magyar Televízió to broadcast the documentary.

Nature’s IQ is also expected to appear on smaller cable and local channels in the US.

Krishna-lila feels positive that audiences will be open to its message.

“One hundred and fifty years after Darwin’s work The Origin of Species, his theory has still not been substantially proven and the missing links are still missing,” she says. “It was very much a 19th century theory. But now we’re living in the 21st century, and the general public is open to alternative explanations and other ways of explaining the wonder of nature.”

The film is now available for public screening. If you wish to screen Nature’s I.Q. at your center or public program, please follow this link and fill out the form: http://www.naturesiqfilm.com/holdascreening.html

For more information about the film, please visit:
www.naturesiqfilm.com or contact Krishna-lila at info@naturesiqfilm.com

Admittance to the US Premierie of Nature’s IQ is free, but due to the limited number of seats, preliminary registration is required at info@naturesiqfilm.com.