BLAST! (movie)

BLAST!
Poster by Dan Chapman
Directed by	Paul Devlin
Starring	Mark Devlin
Distributed by	Docurama
Release date	2008 (2008)
Running time	74 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

BLAST! is a feature-length documentary by Paul Devlin. The film follows a team of astrophysicists who launch a telescope, upon a high-altitude balloon from northern Sweden and again from Antarctica. The film follows the crew of scientists as they travel on a search to answer humankind's most basic question, how did we get here? An approach rarely seen in science programming, BLAST! de-emphasizes talking-head interviews and dispenses with anonymous narration in favor of capturing the action as it happens. Through dynamic storytelling, BLAST! reveals the human side of scientific pursuit, the personal sacrifices of scientists and the philosophical perspectives of discovering the origins of the universe.

BLAST! premiered at Hot Docs on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. It is now playing at film festivals around the world. Festival screenings include:

BLAST! has co-production partnerships with BBC 4’s documentary strand Storyville, Discovery Channel Canada, SVT Sweden, and YLE/FST Finland. The film will broadcast on Discovery Channel in February 2009. BLAST! has also been acquired by VPRO-Netherlands and DR2-Denmark.

BLAST, the Ballon-borne-Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope, was a 2-metre telescope flown from a high-altitude balloon to observe submillimeter radiation emitted mostly by dust heated by young stars. It was created to address important extragalactic and Galactic questions regarding the formation and evolution of stars, galaxies and clusters.

As an official special project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.BLAST! will screen in communities around the world throughout 2009. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO, or United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is endorsed by United Nations and International Council for Science.