Hot Docs 2018: Our Review Of ‘Inventing Tomorrow’

Hot Docs 2018: Our Review Of ‘Inventing Tomorrow’

INSPIRING. Let’s get that word out of the way now because you won’t find many Inventing Tomorrow reviews that don’t say it. And rightfully so. Director Laura Nix’s documentary focuses on several remarkable teenagers preparing to attend one of the world’s biggest science fairs. Nix has crafted an uplifting film sure to leave audiences entertained, informed, and walking out of theatres feeling better about the future.

Inventing Tomorrow introduces us to a group of exceptional students from Indonesia, Hawaii, India, and Mexico. These kids are some of their regions top Brainiac’s and they’ve earned the right to fly to Los Angeles and compete in Intel’s International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), one of the world’s most prestigious science fairs. The most intriguing part of the documentary is that all the kid’s projects are eco-friendly. They’re not crafting more advanced versions of baking soda/volcanoes, they’re creating ways to make the world less toxic, and watching them bring their visions to life is a thing of beauty.

Nix spends the first half of the film introducing us to the kids, their work, and their home lives. They’re all charming subjects and it’s a blast seeing them flip between science-mode and goofy-teenager-mode. I’m in awe these student’s dedication to the pursuit of knowledge. What kind of kid puts down their iPhone long enough to examine soil samples or test water toxicity?

Inventing Tomorrow is a delightful documentary filled with fascinating kids who you can’t help but root for. When the final credits rolled, my first thought was, “F#@k… I needed that.” Inventing Tomorrow planted a smile on my face and I left the theatre walking on clouds. It’s been too long since something made me feel so optimistic about tomorrow.

Inventing Tomorrow showtimes:

Sunday, April 29, 9:15 PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox 01
Monday, April 30, 12:45 PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox 01
Saturday, May 05, 8:30 PM, Fox Theatre
Sunday, May 06, 12:30 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre

This post was written by
Victor Stiff is a Toronto-based freelance writer and pop culture curator. Victor currently contributes insights, criticisms, and reviews to several online publications where he has extended coverage to the Toronto International Film Festival, Hot Docs, Toronto After Dark, Toronto ComiCon, and Fan Expo Canada. Victor has a soft spot in his heart for Tim Burton movies and his two poorly behaved beagles (but not in that order).
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