Let There Be Light
Mila Aung-Thwin & Van Royko
Canada
80 minutes

A Hot Docs Showcase Presentation

 Synopsis

In the south of France, scientists from 37 countries are building the most complex machine ever attempted: an artificial sun. If they get it right, it will illuminate the way to produce clean, cheap, abundant energy for millions of years. If they fail, it will be one of the biggest scientific failures of all time.

Nuclear fusion has been the holy grail of energy for many decades now. It’s the process that drives stars, the ultimate source of energy in the universe. The possibility that fusion might be achievable on Earth as an energy source has driven scientists to the edge of reason for almost a century.

About the Directors

A two-time Emmy winner, Mila Aung-Thwinwas named on Playback magazine’s “Next 25” list as an emerging producer/director. He is co-founder and co-owner of EyeSteelFilm, a documentary film and interactive media company that is dedicated to bringing social and political change through cinematic expression.

Van Royko, MA, CSC, is a filmmaker and director of photography from Montreal, Quebec.He is best known for his award-winning cinematography for the feature documentaries Monsoon and Koneline.Over the course of his career, Royko has collaborated with world-renown directors and producers Yung Chang, Mila Aung-Thwin, Nettie Wild, Sturla Gunnarsson and Denys Arcand.

Fixed!
Cat Mills
Canada
13 minutes

 

Synopsis

FIXED! is a short documentary about the Repair Cafe in Toronto, Ontario. The Repair Cafe is an international movement where volunteers gather together once a month and fix broken items from members of the community...for free. In this 14 minute documentary, we meet people who have come to the Repair Cafe in Toronto to get their beloved broken items fixed: Ishi and her blender, Rodney and his CD player, Nancy and her family bible, Smith and his singing robotic turtle, and ShirleyAnne and her vibrating hairbrush. They get paired with our expert volunteer Fixers: Paul, Tim, Andy, Ed and Louis. Together these perfect strangers will try to resurrect their broken items. Will they succeed or will these five items be tossed into the landfill?

Globally, we throw out 50 tons of household waste every second. Much of that waste is not garbage but items that can be given a second life through repair. FIXED! challenges our throw-away culture in a lighthearted and empowering way.

About the Director

Cat Mills is an award winning documentary Director/ Producer based in Toronto, Canada. She is a fellow of the Canadian Film and Television and Producers Internship program and a fellow of the documentary Channel Doc Accelerator Program where she was selected as 1 of 8 emerging filmmakers nationwide. Cat is current in post-production on her short film, FIXED!, about the Repair Cafe in Toronto. The film won the 2016 Hot Docs Short Film Pitch competition.