"The Faraway Nearby" FREE Documentary Film Screening

LIGO Hanford Observatory proudly presents a screening of the documentary "The Faraway Nearby".

This film was directed by Paula Froehle, produced by Steve Cohen and Hussain Currimbhoy, and co-created with Alan Lightman.

This special screening will be preceded by an introduction from Lightman and will be followed by a unique Q&A session with Froehle and LIGO Hanford Observatory head Michael Landry.

Synopsis:

At the intersection of art and science, The Faraway Nearby illustrates Joe Weber’s struggle to be the first to ‘hear’ gravitational waves in space, a passion that consumed him until his death. It is a story of self sacrifice and the pioneering spirit, featuring interviews with Nobel Laureates Kip Thorne and Rai Weiss, astrophysicists Nergis Mavalvala and Rana Adhikari, psychologist Steven Pinker, and many others. Weber was a brilliant but misunderstood thinker who took astronomy to new heights through determination and creativity. Featuring artists Silas Riener and Lia Halloran, the film explores the relationship between diligent creative practice and the resilience necessary for scientific discovery, and how both help us understand our place in the universe.

Joe’s battle led to ostracization from the scientific community he desperately wanted approval from, yet his laid the groundwork for the creation of LIGO, the gravity wave detector honored with the Nobel Prize in 2017.

Directed by Paula Froehle, acclaimed director, educator and co-founder of the Chicago Media Project,The Faraway Nearby is an unexpected cinematic journey into the power of obsession and the human need to explore beyond our perceptions. Co-written with acclaimed physicist/novelist Alan Lightman, produced by Steve Cohen, executive producer of Oscar-winning Icarus, Allen v Farrow, and Apollo, producer Hussain Currimbhoy, who has over two decades in the film industry, including work as lead programmer at Sundance Film Festival and Sheffield Doc/Fest, and directing science-themed documentaries for the Breakthrough Prize. Creative Producer David Teague, Editor Sam Rong, (HotDocs premiere Faceless) also a Chicago native, is lead editor and Resolution Digital Studios brings the creative partnership a cutting edge energy, allowing gaming technology and virtual production techniques to be realized.

The LIGO Exploration Center (LExC) will be open special hours for this event: 6:15pm -7:15pm. The LExC building houses one of Weber's first attempts at building a gravitational wave detectors.Built in the 1960s at the University of Maryland, this large aluminum cylinder was designed to vibrate when gravitational waves pass through it. Today, such ‘resonant bars’ are also known as Weber bars. Weber bars were stored and operated in vacuum chambers to reduce the effects of acoustic noise. LIGO also utilizes vacuums for this purpose, along with in order to reduce light scattering of the laser.

This film will include English subtitles for various audiences to ensure accessibility and enhance the viewing experience. ​