The email arrived this morning announcing that my film "Hubble's Diverse Universe" has been accepted into the San Diego Black Film Festival! I received the news in my dormitory room at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town. I am here putting the final touching on my book which is a study of the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme which educates Africans in astrophysics.
"Hubble's Diverse Universe" is a short documentary featuring African American and Hispanic American astrophysicists. There are four sections: science, diversity, mentoring and outreach, and NASA. The film was funded through a NASA Education and Public Outreach grant. It is a tribute to the Hubble Space Telescope and is in honor of astrophysicists Beth Brown who died in 2008.
For the film we wanted to do a different kind of astronomy documentary where the people were as interesting as the science and the scientists were diverse. It was a pleasure to make and a pain to edit! To have the film selected is a great honor and a milestone for the project.
The trailer can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKin4JSHwfI
www.hdumovie.com
or http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1686466/.
Information about the San Diego Black Film Festival can be found at www.sdbff.com. The dates of the festival are Jan 27 - 29th, 2012.
