BUDAPEST HUNGARY 28th International Epilepsy Congress

ILAE CENTENARY
ILAE Centenary exhibition and historical
timeline – ILAE and Epilepsy 909-2009
The exhibition consists of 65 posters to
celebrate the 100 years of ILAE and the
progress in epilepsy.The posters are
based on the ILAE Centenary History
Book.The exhibition starts in 1909 in
the Hotel Bristol and finishes with an
allegorical arch symbolizing the next
100 years. A historial timeline is also on
show to give context to the audience.
Display of historical books – 909-2009
A display of approximately 30 books of
importance to the cultural history of
epilepsy, and published between 1909-
2009, will be on show at the exhibition,
and linked to the special session
‘Epilepsy and literature’.The display
will be of the original editions, in their
original languages, and demonstrates
the importance of epilepsy in the
development of the novel during the
twentieth century.
The Centenary of the ILAE Journal
– Epilepsia
2009 is also the centenary of the journal
Epilepsia.The first edition was published
in March 1909 and Epilepsia was then
formally adopted as ‘the official organ’
of the ILAE in September 1909 and from
henceforward ILAE have owned and
run the journal. Over the years, it has
published many important papers in the
field of epilepsy and the journal
has been a crowning achievement of
the league.
Wiley Blackwell, the current publishers
of Epilepsia, will have a stand at the
congress to which all participants are
invited. Amongst the items on show
at the stand will be the historical
supplement, which was published with
the Epilepsia centenary issue in March
2009.This supplement contains 10
chapters covering aspects of the history
of epilepsy during the 100 years.
On Monday 29 th June (10.30 - 12.30),
there is a special session at the
conference devoted to four landmark
papers in the journal and the impact
these had on the subsequent course
of epilepsy (100 years of Epilepsia -
landmark papers and their influence).
6
28 th International Epilepsy Congress
ILAE Centenary Film Festival
It is fitting that the ILAE should celebrate
their centenary with a film festival.
Epilepsy has featured in films for almost
100 years and continues to be a strong
plot device for modern film makers.
Whilst many of these films are not award
winners, they often vividly convey the
social and medical mores of the era in
which they were made. Four films have
been selected for screening as part
of the ILAE centenary celebrations to
showcase the history and development
of the representation of epilepsy on
the silver screen from the 1920’s to the
21 st century.The four films are: To What
Red Hell, Dr. Kildare’s Crisis, A Matter
of Life and Death and Control. The
showing of each film will be preceded
by a brief introduction and followed by
a short debate about the way epilepsy
is depicted.
Against the backdrop of this historical
overview, the ILAE has also held a
Centenary Film Competition, as
part of its centenary celebrations, in
order to encourage fresh perspectives
on epilepsy and seizures in film.The
competition was for the best film, in
the opinion of the judges, made since
January 2000 which was inspired by
or related to epilepsy or seizures.The
competition was not for educational
or clinical films, but rather for creative
or artistic works which used epilepsy
as a theme directly or tangentially.The
judging criterion was creative merit.
The competition attracted entries from
Europe, Asia, North and South America,
Africa and the Middle East, representing
many different film genres.These films
were judged by a distinguished panel
and at the congress, the award will be
presented to the overall winner of this
competition, who is Gus Cummins for
his short film Ictal. The world premier
screening of this short film will be held
during the congress.
There were also winners for the best fulllength
feature film of the competition,
Year of the Wolf, and the best
documentary, Rachel: A Perfect Life.
Both of these films will also be shown
along with some of the runners-up, as
part of the festival.
www.epilepsybudapest2009.org