Science at Sundance 2023
Illustration by Islenia Mil for Science
This year I had a chance two science-related films screened at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah — two vastly different films, but both struck a chord.
Poacher
A gunshot pierces the skull of an adult male elephant, a tusker, and it slowly slumps to the ground. This gruesome, but gripping opening shot kicks off the engrossing episodic program Poacher, inspired by a true story, in which a motley team of wildlife crime fighters exposed the largest ivory ring in Indian history.
The series is set in 2015 in the jungles of Kerala, an Indian state nicknamed “God’s Own Country” where, in 1994, authorities quashed an ivory smuggling ring involving transnational crime syndicates. In the opening scene, a whistle blower comes forward to offer information on “Raaz” a dangerous elephant poacher the man claims is active in the area, but state officials are initially dismissive. Surveillance technology has become commonplace and large-scale poaching is thought to be a thing of the past.
In this fast-paced investigative procedural—the first three episodes of which debuted at Sundance— the narrative momentum is maintained without forfeiting character depth. India’s religious diversity and the many languages spoken in the country are on full display: viewers will hear Malayalam, English, and Hindi throughout the series. The show’s protagonists include computer programmer/snake expert Alan Joseph (played by Roshan Mathew) who builds a case against the poacher that “will live and die on data analysis” and forest officer Mala Jogi (Nimisha Sajayan), who leads raids into the hideouts of dangerous suspects and cleans up after the botched efforts of her colleagues. When the team eventually tracks down Raaz, viewers realize this is just the beginning of a very complicated case.
Cleverly interspersed shots from the misty jungles suggest that the region’s animals too are keeping a wary eye on the proceedings of the case. If the elephants go, the jungle ecosystem will collapse, and Kerala will eventually be as polluted as the national capital New Delhi, viewers are told. An aerial shot of the vehicle-clogged arteries of that megacity hints at what would be lost if this came to be.
Wildlife crime fighters are an overworked lot with little personal time. In Poacher, their triumphs and struggles are told with empathy. The dedication of these men and women to this dangerous work suggests there is still hope for the future of wildlife on a planet where humans are now the top predators.
The Longest Goodbye
In the next decade, NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars on a three-year mission. The journey itself will take approximately six months, each way. While the various components of a spaceship can be tested under extreme conditions, the effect of prolonged social isolation on the crew members’ emotional well-being remains unknown. And yet, how well the astronauts hold up mentally and emotionally within those cramped quarters could make or mar the mission. This simple but profound idea is elegantly explored in The Longest Goodbye.
The documentary features interviews with Dr. Al Holland, a NASA psychologist who is tasked with keeping space explorers mentally fit throughout their missions, as well as insightful interviews with astronaut Cady Coleman who lived aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for 6 months from 2010 to 2011, Sukjin Han, a member of an Earthbound Mars simulation crew, and Kayla Barron, an astronaut currently in training for a potential Mars mission.
Archival video of Coleman’s interactions with her family—which include a long-distance musical duet and a game of tic-tac-toe— over a shaky internet connection during her six-month stint at the ISS, makes for heartwarming scenes. Coleman’s son Jamey, then in 4th grade, had a tough time with his mother’s absence though. As he explains in the film, he always tried to put on a brave face for her.
“Crew members’ connection with family is a critical piece of sustenance for them,” Holland observes. Such connections are important during any long period of separation, learned Holland in 2010, when NASA was called in to help manage the mental health of 33 Chilean miners trapped underground. The documentary includes footage of the miners’ 69 day ordeal and celebrated rescue, along with touching scenes of the miners’ families interacting with them through video calls.
In a Mars expedition, astronauts will not be able to communicate with their families in real-time, so experts are trying to come up with new strategies to counter homesickness. In the film, they discuss possible solutions, including virtual reality rendezvous with loved ones, AI-enabled companions, and even the possibility of inducing hibernation during the flight. A medical coma may spare the astronauts some angst en route, but will likely lead to readjustment issues when they awaken, they concede.
Sometimes, the mission to Mars feels like too much to ask of any human for the sake of science. And yet, the explorers who volunteer for such endeavors are often among the most eager participants. “If I could have spent another six months [on the ISS], I would have stayed in a minute,” reveals Coleman in the closing moments of the film.
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