Laura Nix, film director, talks to Heather Goldstone on Living Lab about her new movie Inventing Tomorrow. It’s about teenage science innovators from around the globewho are creating cutting-edge solutions to confront the world’s environmental threats.
The film follows four teams of 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).
The filmmaker says she was drawn to the story because she liked the optimism and drive of the young people. Stories abound that discuss and inform about environmental issues, but in this case the students feel an agency to change things and share what they’ve done.
They are dealing with huge issues like arsenic contamination and lake pollution in their homelands (Mexico, Indonesia, Hawaii, and India) with unusual hopefulness.
These youth have grown up with the environmental crisis; they know about it first hand and react by taking action, using the tools of science. They are driven to do it and have a personal connection because the problems affect their lives directly.
One of the hopes of the project, Nix says, is to help increase access to high quality Stem education in developing nations.
Inventing Tomorrow will be screening at the Woods Hole Film Festival in late July
