Between the Folds, a new documentary about origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, is a gorgeous cinematic experience. I was so captivated by the documentary that halfway through I felt intense admiration for humanity, the same tingling I feel when listening to music so exquisite it’s almost painful. Many people portrayed in the film—artists, mathematicians, scientists––have devoted their lives to creating paper art objects for the pure fun of it, to satisfy their curiosity, to communicate. It was glorious to behold their energy and originality.
Director Vanessa Gould says her ...

Like a colorful Mandelbrot fractal, Emily Levine’s one-woman show about her illness and triumph over it spirals in and out from her personal experience to the universal. Her story spans Emily 2.0 and Emily 3.0––releases on life during her struggle with acromegaly. This disease is caused by a pituitary gland tumor and results in “gigantism,” severe headache, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, enlarged jaw and heart, hypertension, diabetes, and heart and kidney failure. Here is the website of humorist, speaker, and radio commentator Levine.
Levine’s case took some time to diagnose and ...