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There's great work being done on both sides of the camera at Rutgers University, film fans will discover this weekend.
On Sunday, part of opening weekend of the New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2011 season, Voorhees Hall on Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, will host a screening of "Atlantic Crossing: A Robot's Daring Mission.''
Directed by Dena Seidel, a filmmaker and director of digital storytelling at Writers House, an undergraduate learning community at Rutgers' English department, "Atlantic Crossing'' chronicles the trans-Atlantic journey of RU27, an underwater glider robot alternately known as the Scarlet Knight, or just Scarlet, who began her mission in April 2009 off the coast of Tuckerton.
To create "Atlantic Crossing,'' Seidel and the students working on her project documented the work of the staff and students of the Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences for more than a year and a half, eventually collecting 450 hours of high-definition footage, with the end result being a piece of homemade Rutgers art in virtually every respect.
"It's really been a huge success on so many levels, and it really shows that when you're able to collaborate, when lots of people come together and we all bring our different skill sets, you can make magic, basically,'' Seidel said.
According to Seidel, she met with the oceanographers at the invitation of Rick Ludescher, the dean of Rutgers' Cook Campus and executive producer of "Atlantic Crossing.''
"They're a funny, dynamic, very personable group of oceanographers who were about to do something that was clearly very risky and historic and the chances of them succeeding were quite low, but they were going to do it anyway,'' she said.
Describing the importance of Scarlet's mission, Seidel said the robot "is basically a prototype for a future fleet of ocean observation vehicles; this technology is absolutely imperative to start monitoring the oceans.
"The Atlantic Ocean in particular is the engine of what's called the Thermohaline circulation system. It captures most of the heat of the sun and it shields this whole circulation system that is our weather, our global weather, and as the climate is clearly changing, the oceans are responding first. And as they change, it will clearly affect our weather ... there's all kinds of factors. So it's critical to understand what's going on with the oceans.''
However, Seidel explained that the key to getting audiences invested in Scarlet's journey was to show the stories of the scientists working behind the scenes.
"My job, as I see it, is to first tell a story, and so if I can hook the audience into a story and make them interested in the character, in the person and his or her mission or goal and feel like there's something really at stake, there's somebody on an adventure, on a quest that has an important overall mission or view to it. In this case, monitoring the oceans in the midst of climate change.
"But Scott (Glenn, a Rutgers oceanographer and professor featured in the film) is enormously personable, he wanted to be an astronaut, all this great stuff about him as a character, it just seemed like a big challenge, big goal at the beginning, and then once you're hooked onto the character and the story, then that character can stop and tell you some science, and now you're ready to listen to that science.''
Discussing "Atlantic Crossing,'' New Jersey Film Festival curator Al Nigrin said, "I think it was successful generating suspense, you know, having almost like a spy thriller feel to it to a certain extent because (Scarlet) is being attacked by all sorts of creatures, and it has to deal with the elements and yet at the same time, with all of that involved, it's ultimately doing a great thing because it's mapping out the health of the ocean. So the environmental element, I thought, was really strong.''
"Atlantic Crossing'' isn't the only documentary with Rutgers ties that will be screened as part of the New Jersey Film Festival, which is presented by the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center and the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies. On Feb. 13, the festival will feature "Hot Toxic Love: The Making of 'The Toxic Avenger Musical,'" a film focused on the Canadian production of the musical written by former Rutgers students and Tony winners David Bryan of Bon Jovi and Joe DiPietro.
Discussing the documentaries screening at this season's event, Nigrin said, "We're part of an educational institution, and you can learn about other cultures via documentary. I mean, documentary is not the truth ... it's one person or a group of people's perspective on an issue. So whether it be 'Cash Crop' (screening Jan. 30), a documentary about marijuana and its potential to turn the economy around as a renewable resource, to something like 'Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone,' (screening on Saturday) you learn about something, and it's connected to the culture.''
THE NEW JERSEY FILM FESTIVAL SPRING 2011‚ Running through March 5, with "Atlantic Crossing'' playing in the block of films starting at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Screenings held at Voorhees Hall, 71 Hamilton St., New Brunswick, and the Ruth Adams Building, 131 George St., New Brunswick‚ $10 general admission; $9 students and seniors; $8 friends of the Rutgers Film Co-Op/NJMAC‚ 732-932-8482; visit http://www.njfilmfest.com for a complete schedule of screenings.
