GREEN BANK, WV (WOAY)- “Small Town Universe” is a documentary about the people of Green Bank and their big telescope.
Green Bank is the home of the Green Bank Observatory, known for housing the world’s most sensitive radio telescope and the birthplace of modern SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
This film tells the story of why science matters in small towns and also shows how this telescope brings the residents of Green Bank together.
“One of the main themes of this film is connection. You know, how we connect with the cosmos, how we connect with science, and how we connect with one another,” explained Katie Dellamaggiore, director/producer of “Small Town Universe.” “I think that like coming together and screening a film about this technological advance, that telescope right here in our own backyard right here in West Virginia is just like a really beautiful story.”
This film features many people from the observatory and the town. A physics student was working on advocacy for the center at the time filmmakers came in to film this, that work of hers is featured in it. However, this story is about more than just her.
“I think it’s something that will resonate with people from across the state because, the Green Bank community is unique in many ways. It’s also kind of representative of a lot of our other small communities that are kind of brought together by the people in them,” said Ellie White, featured in the film.
The film is currently on the festival circuit and doing limited screenings. This week however, they’re doing a West Virginia screening tour.
They’ll be screening it at WVU Tech in Beckley tomorrow at 6 pm. Then they’ll be screening it at Marshall University and the Clay Center this week on the 12th and 13th at 6 pm. You can visit the link below for more information.
wvallstar.org
The director of “Small Town Universe” explains how this film started:
