© Les Films Kookaburra
LOGLINE
From the origin of space time to the Puerto Rican hills, come explore the invisible worlds of the Arecibo Observatory, the biggest radiotelescope on Earth.
SYNOPSIS
Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest radio-telescope, was built when the US aimed at the Moon and feared the Soviets. While revealing our atmosphere, our solar system, and the nature of space and time, the technological wonder of Puerto Rico searches for other life in the Universe and dangers to life here on Earth.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
Sitting in class in a small French country town, the 9 year old Stéphanie Joalland heard the story of the Arecibo message being sent to unknown Galactic civilizations. This story stuck with her throughout her life. Years later as a writer/director, she makes movies exploring how adults can maintain the wonder with which we viewed our Universe as children. Together with Mallory Roberts, a working astrophysicist long interested in the public perception of the scientific process, she tells the story of the radiotelescope that inspired her as a child. Arecibo Observatory is an icon of our ability to dream. The fact that its budget has been slashed such that it can hardly be maintained raises questions we want to explore as filmmakers: How could the most sensitive radio telescope ever built be valued so little? What happened to the US dreams of space conquest and leadership through science? What happened to the country that once made children all over the world dream of travelling to other worlds? How can it be that an instrument that does excellent science and is still on the cutting edge of technology be struggling to survive? What is the value to society of Arecibo? Is there something so vital and unique about it that we must keep it open? Through "Conversation with the Cosmos" we hope to bring awareness to the fate of the Arecibo telescope and more generally to the fate of US science.
COQUI & LIZARD
To create educational supplements to the film, Stéphanie will be drawing on her extensive background in developing animated shows for television to create animations explaining the science to a general audience in an entertaining way. These will feature two characters, a Puerto-Rican frog, Coquí, and a lizard, named well... Lizard!
