Wild and Scenic Film Festival 2019 - Inventing Tomorrow
Meet passionate teenage innovators from around the globe who are creating cutting-edge solutions to confront the world’s environmental threats found right in their own backyards while navigating the doubts and insecurities that mark adolescence. Take a journey with these inspiring teens as they prepare their projects for the largest convening of high school scientists in the world, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Interview with Director/Producer Laura Nix
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to make a film about what it would be like to be a teenager growing up during an era defined by so many urgent environmental issues, especially if you were a smart teenager engaged in science. After making a previous documentary about climate change and activism, THE YES MEN ARE REVOLTING, I wanted to make an environmental film that leaves audiences with a sense of agency.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Some people might think a documentary about science and the environment is boring, so it was really important to me to create an emotional and character-based film. We’re living in dark and difficult times, so it’s rare to watch a film that leaves you with a sense of hope for our future, particularly if it’s a film about the environment.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Each teen subject of the film is on a personal quest to save the environment where they live, but each face unique obstacles to make that dream a reality. Some are painfully shy and don’t feel comfortable communicating, some lack financial resources, some face powerful industry players that seem too big to confront. Yet they each find the courage to ask the right questions, and keep doing their research despite huge hurdles.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This is a documentary film so we didn’t start with a script, but a concept, which was let’s follow young people from all over the globe on their way to the biggest science fair in the world. After I visited the fair the year before on a scout, it was clear to me that the film would be more emotional if the students had a deep personal connection to their projects, and weren’t just in it for the college application. When I met students who were doing science projects to tackle an environmental issue where they lived, they had a personal investment in the outcome which is why I chose to focus on them.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We had six standing ovations when we premiered at Sundance. Frequently people have a very emotional response to the film, I’ve heard a lot of “you made a grown man cry.” But I’m most encouraged by the response we get from young people who see the film – they are super excited to see people their own age try and change the world. It makes them think they can and should do that too.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
At a screening in San Francisco, one student asked, “What if I don’t care about the environment?” I was surprised at that question, I naively thought most people would believe it matters. One of our teen documentary subjects was with us, Sahithi Pingali, and she she didn’t skip a beat. She answered: “You might not care about the environment, but you may care about your own health. And if you want to be healthy, you need to live in a physical environment that’s healthy too.”
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We are using the film to promote equal access to high quality STEM education as well as youth environmental stewardship, so the next generation is empowered with the tools they need to ensure their own survival on this planet. We hope adults will see the vision of these young people and be galvanized to amplify their voices, their approach and their overall message. It’s clear we left a mess behind us, and we need the next generation to lead so we can follow.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How can we empower the next generation to tackle the environmental issues previous generations left behind? How can science education impact an entire community?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m directing a short film for the New York Times Op-Docs series, produced by Concordia Studio. It will be part of a series on immigration.
Interview: February 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Inventing Tomorrow
Meet passionate teenage innovators from around the globe who are creating cutting-edge solutions to confront the world’s environmental threats found right in their own backyards while navigating the doubts and insecurities that mark adolescence. Take a journey with these inspiring teens as they prepare their projects for the largest convening of high school scientists in the world, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Length: 1:27:00
Director: Laura Nix
Producer: Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Laura Nix
About the writer, director and producer:
LAURA NIX is a Chicken and Egg Breakthrough Filmmaker Award winner in 2018, and was awarded the Sundance Institute/Discovery Impact Fellowship in 2017. She previously directed THE YES MEN ARE REVOLTING, (Toronto Film Festival 2014, Berlinale 2015), which was theatrically released and broadcast in the US and in multiple international territories. Her film THE LIGHT IN HER EYES premiered at IDFA; was broadcast on the PBS series POV, and toured the world as part of Sundance's Film Forward program. Other feature directing credits include the comedic melodrama THE POLITICS OF FUR, which played in over 70 festivals internationally and won multiple awards including the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest; and WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, about the phenomenon of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. Her films have been favorably reviewed in publications such as the New York Times, Variety, Indiewire and Time Out London. Nix has broadcast her work on Al Jazeera Arabic, Arte, CBC, Canal+, HBO, IFC, NHK, PBS, VPRO, ZDF and on outlets such as New York Times Op-Docs.
DIANE BECKER is an LA-based documentary and feature film producer and a graduate of the American Film Institute. She has worked with the award-winning Passion Pictures and Motto Pictures on films including SERGIO, MANHUNT, CHICKEN PEOPLE, and LEGION OF BROTHERS. The team’s latest film with Greg Barker, THE FINAL YEAR, chronicling the last year of the Obama Administration's foreign policy team, premiered in January 2018. She and producer Melanie Miller founded Fishbowl Films in 2009 and their latest narrative film, ALASKA IS A DRAG, is currently screening in festivals around the globe. Other credits include WE ARE X, about Japan’s biggest rock band in history (World Cinema Documentary Best Editing Award, 2016 Sundance Film Festival) and the Netflix documentary series FIVE CAME BACK, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Scott Rudin. Diane was chosen as one of five of the 2017 Sundance Documentary Creative Producing Fellows. Her new film with director Stephen Kijak, LYNYRD SKYNYRD: IF I LEAVE HERE TOMORROW, will premiere on Showtime in August 2018. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
MELANIE MILLER has over two decades of experience in the entertainment industry. During her tenure at Gravitas Ventures as Vice President of Acquisitions & Marketing, she played an integral role in the growth of the new paradigm of independent distribution. Prior to Gravitas, Miller was the Artistic Director at the Jackson Hole Film Institute and in 2009 co-founded Fishbowl Films with Diane Becker. Their films include William Dickerson's DETOUR which released theatrically in 2013, and Shaz Bennett’s directorial debut ALASKA IS A DRAG which won the coveted US in Progress grant and is currently on the worldwide festival circuit. More recently Melanie was the Executive Vice President at Samuel Goldwyn Films, responsible for the company’s distribution, marketing and PR strategy for all films. She has been a guest speaker at events such as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Sloan Summit, the Sundance Institute, the Produced By Conference, and other industry events. Melanie is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
Key cast: Jared Goodwin, Sahithi Pingali, Shofi Latifa Nuha Anfaresi, Intan Utami Putri, Fernando Miguel Sanchez Villalobox, Jesus Alfonso Martinez Aranda, Jose Manuel Elizade Esperanza
Facebook: Inventing Tomorrow
Twitter: @InventingTmrw
Instagram: @inventingtomorrowmovie
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? See Linktree