ITER goes to the movies
5 Jun 2017
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Sabina Griffith
It's rare to see all 500 seats of the amphitheatre at ITER Headquarters occupied. But who wouldn't drop pen and paper to run to the cinema when ITER is featured on the big screen?
Subtitled "The 100 Year Journey to Fusion," the documentary shows work underway around the world at both ends of the fusion spectrum—from the giant ITER to the warehouse-based startup. On the screen is ITER's Mark Henderson, Electron Cyclotron Section leader.
Last Tuesday, the Canadian documentary Let there be light was presented to ITER staff in the presence of film director and producer Mila Aung-Thwin. His 90-minute documentary about the quest for fusion energy has been competing at international film festivals since February, including the Big Sky Film Festival in Montana, where it won the Feature Competition Artistic Vision Award; the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin Texas (see this review from the Houston Chronicle); the CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, Denmark (the first European venue); and, most recently, the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, Canada.
And then it came time to show it to the people the film was about.
For Mila, it meant a lot to return to ITER Headquarters where he and his cinematographer Van Royko had spent so much time filming and interviewing, and to await the reaction of the audience during the two screenings held on 23 May. If he had been nervous when the lights went out, there was no need once they were turned on again—the applause was overwhelming and the comments very positive ... even emotional. "Thank you Mila for this film," one staff member said. "I feel so proud to be part of this project!"
The film has not been released for public audiences yet, but EyeSteelFilm is negotiating with the international broadcasting stations. So stay tuned!
Watch the trailer of the documentary here.