Ariel Phenomenon is the first documentary to thoroughly document the account of over sixty schoolchildren at Ariel School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, who, in 1994, witnessed an unidentified craft land outside their rural African schoolyard. Thanks to the courageous work of Dr. John E. Mack, who jeopardized his reputation as a Harvard psychiatrist, the mass-sighting event was made impossible to ignore.
Ariel Phenomenon is about an extraordinary incident at a school in a distant land. Still, the film ... view more »
Ariel Phenomenon is the first documentary to thoroughly document the account of over sixty schoolchildren at Ariel School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, who, in 1994, witnessed an unidentified craft land outside their rural African schoolyard. Thanks to the courageous work of Dr. John E. Mack, who jeopardized his reputation as a Harvard psychiatrist, the mass-sighting event was made impossible to ignore.
Ariel Phenomenon is about an extraordinary incident at a school in a distant land. Still, the film delves deeper and finds something arguably more profoundly human: the event’s impact on witnesses, their families, the investigators, and their jobs, not just in the moment but for the rest of their lives.Along the way, the audience meets Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Mack and respected BBC war correspondent Tim Leach, both forever changed by their investigations and experiences.
For the eyewitness students, investigators, and those around them, what began as an investigation into the extraordinary 1994 incident transforms into something equally as remarkable: a genuinely human story that explores what happens when you experience something so extraordinary that nobody believes you.
Head of Harvard’s Department of Psychiatry from 1977-2004, Dr. Mack traveled to Zimbabwe to interview the schoolchildren at Ariel School and openly declared that their version of events was to be believed.
With a cinematic score by Nathaniel Walcott (Fault in Our Stars; member, Bright Eyes), and editing/writing by Christopher Seward of Fahrenheit 911, Sicko, and Sundance Grand Jury-winning One Child Nation, the film blends stunning wildlife cinematography and a poignant musical score to create a documentary well outside the expected genre.
Screening: September 14, 2023, 8:00 PM, followed by a special Q&A session with director Randall Nickerson on the film, Dr. Mack, and the connection to Harvard.
Screening: September 16, 2023, 1:00 PM, followed by a special Q&A session with director Randall Nickerson on the film, Dr. Mack, and the connection to Harvard.
View less
