The world’s largest high school science competition takes place in Los Angeles. Each year, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair invites some 1,800 finalists who come together to compete but also to connect with their peers from around the globe. This inspiring film follows six participants from Indonesia, India, Mexico, and Hawaii. Spending time with them at home before the competition, it’s clear that their research is personal. Each competitor’s project revolves around environmental issues in their community, with challenges like foaming toxic lakes and arsenic contamination. These are significant and complicated problems to solve, but the students’ innovative inventions may just hold the answers. The competition itself is a sight to behold: the scale of the event, the incredibly talented pool of  participants, and of course, the anxious preparations leading up to their final presentations to the judges. These moments are not without excitement, but the film is not really about winning. When these brilliant young minds consider our collective future, we’ve all already won.  ST

Q&A following screening