New film from the Cluster of Excellence PoL: What brings matter to life?

With the beginning of a new funding phase in 2026, the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) is releasing a series of exciting image films to highlight the science and people that make up the cluster. After months of filming, editing, and anticipation, PoL is excited to share the first in a series of films produced in collaboration with AVANGA Filmproduktion GmbH.The first release is a four-minute film offering a glimpse of PoL's research goals for their new funding phase.

Six Principal Investigators (PIs) feature in speaking roles, discussing their goal of understanding living systems, as well as developing cutting-edge techniques, and attracting talented scientists from around the world. Alongside these lab settings, film crews also captured two memorable PoL community events: the annual PoL Day meeting and a celebration marking the cluster’s renewal by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Numerous members of the PoL community gave their time to make this project a reality, including administrative staff, Master's students, and PhD researchers. In total, over sixty PoL staff feature in the film. 

Careers film & Research Snapshots

In the coming weeks, further films will be released, including a careers film (watch the video) featuring three researchers at different stages of their journey: a Master’s student, a PhD student, and a postdoctoral scientist, offering an honest look at what it means to build a career at PoL. Following that, a series of short weekly research snapshots will be published, highlighting the work of PIs who were hired by PoL, and are part of the second funding phase.