CIFF ’17: Maineland

There are many reasons why Chinese parents are sending their teenage children to study in America. A degree from an American university still carries great prestige in China and study abroad also offers a way to avoid the hyper-competitive Chinese entrance exams. As an added bonus, the Chinese students attending Fryeburg Academy in bucolic Maine might just receive an excellent education. For three years, Miao Wang followed a group of Chinese students as they learned, grew, and matriculated in Maineland (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 Camden International Film Festival.

With domestic enrollment down, Chinese recruitment has become critically important to traditional day-and-boarding prep schools like Fryeburg, the eighth oldest private academy in America. The outgoing Stella charms her way in on the first interview, whereas the shy Harry makes it in on the strength of his academic record. Both believe it is their familial duty to study business in college, even though she would prefer to take a degree in education and he would rather pursue music.

Not surprisingly, she will be more socially active than he, but both will take advantage of the opportunities that would be unavailable at Chinese schools. In Harry’s case, this means studying the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, which clearly leaves him deeply confused. Stella joins the cheer squad and other Chinese students make their own documentary about their experiences and the perceptions of their American classmates for their film studies class. There will indeed be plenty of culture clash to navigate and it is unclear how wide their circle of friends extends beyond fellow international students. However, from what we see, the teachers really have a knack for reaching them.

Frankly, Fryeburg looks like a truly superior school that really does foster critical thinking. If every Chinese pupil studying in America receives a roughly comparable education, China could be a vastly different country in twenty years—unequivocally for the better. Much like Neasa Ní Chianáin & David Rane’s School Life, Maineland also gives us a chance to track their development over time, with the general trend definitely looking positive overall. The Chinese students clearly have just as strong an emotional attachment to Fryeburg, which says a lot.

Despite their entrepreneurial-class parents’ privileged positions, the Fryeburg Chinese boarding students all come across like good kids who will be decent adults with a wider perspective on life. That is sufficient cause for a little optimism. Any film that gives us a little hope for the future of China is quite welcome, especially considering how vividly Wang’s previous feature-length doc Beijing Taxi portrayed the class-stratifications of contemporary Chinese society. Highly recommended for China watchers and anyone nostalgic for boarding school life, Maineland screens Sunday afternoon (9/17) during this year’s CIFF. In addition, South Jersey residents should also consider Lana Wilson’s The Departure and Steve James’ Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, two terrific documentaries that have already screened in New York and are continuing their festival runs in Camden.

CIFF ’17: Let There Be Light

There was a time when it seemed like the only people talking about fusion energy were the LaRouchers. Remember Fusion magazine? Despite their interest, many scientists still believe nuclear fusion (as opposed to conventional nuclear fission) is a realistic goal. A multi-national consortium has sunk billions of dollars and Euros into an experimental sun-like reactor, yet some grubby start-up might just scoop them with something smaller and weirder looking. The scientists, bureaucrats, and entrepreneurs working to solve the fusion problem explain their vision in Mila Aung-Thwin & Van Royko’s documentary, Let There Be Light (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 Camden International Film Festival.

The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is so huge, the construction team likens it to cathedrals that took generations to construct. It is a multinational, intergovernmental partnership of the U.S., EU, Japan, South Korea, China, India, and Russia, so it is likely to run past its deadlines and over budget. Nevertheless, many consider it our best chance to develop truly clean and sustainable energy for future generations.

To Michael Laberge of General Fusion, that is all very well, but anything that cost tens of billions to produce and lifetimes to construct will never become a practical energy source. The prototype his team is working on would be much more scalable. That’s him, standing in front of its jutting turbines. Yet, the slightly mad Eric Lerner and his storefront Focus Fusion might be the dark horse to watch. We will see him sell shares in the company to his landlord, which definitely should count as an accomplishment.

The upside of fusion is truly revolutionary, but if ITER fails, it could very well poison the well for fusion research for decades. These are high stakes, but Aung-Thwin and Royko are much more interested in the science. Yet, there is a real horse race going on, with no guarantee every rider will reach the finish line.

Still, the enthusiasm of the scientists is refreshingly engaging. To their credit, they are able to explain some big concepts in lucid layman’s terms. At one point, the American representative to ITER likens the project to the Apollo Moon landing effort, but there is no public face making fusion’s case in the media, unless you count this film.

Let There Be Light is an enjoyable work of popular science filmmaking, but it never makes the blindingly obvious point. In a world where the leading fossil fuel providers are countries like Venezuela, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, wouldn’t it be nice to achieve a breakthrough in fusion power? Still, the film is generally optimistic, which is cool. Recommended for fans of real science docs, like Pandora’s Promise and Particle Fever, Let There Be Light screens this Friday afternoon (9/15) during the Camden International Film Festival.