Press

Whiz Kids asks you to forget everything you ever thought about brainiacs

TED MILLS, SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS
January 27, 2009

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently quipped, "If you want to know the agenda for this new Congress, remember four words: science, science, science and science."

If we are indeed looking forward to a new generation of scientific Americans, the sneak preview of "Whiz Kids" can serve as a first volley. The film screens twice as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this week.

Created by Santa Barbara-born producer Michael Duca and director Tom Shepard (along with executive producer Greg Little) the documentary follows the fortunes of three high school students as they compete in the nation's oldest, most prestigious science competition, the Intel Science Talent Search.

This is no ordinary trip to the science fair. National institutions take finalists in the Science Talent Search seriously, as its alumni have gone on to earn six Nobel Prizes, three National Medals of Science, 10 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and two Fields Medals.

Mr. Duca, who once interned at the News-Press, first heard about the competition when he worked as an admissions officer at Stanford University, where he was an urban studies major. His interest piqued, he began thinking about the possibilities of a documentary when he went to work for Sandbar Pictures, a production company best known for features such as "Sex and Death 101" (starring Winona Ryder). A talent search for a director led them to the fortuitous choice of Mr. Shepard, who came not just with a filmography filled with award-winning documentaries for PBS (including "Scout's Honor" and "Knocking"), but pertinent experience. Mr. Shepard was a finalist in the competition back in 1987.

"I did a project on harvester ants in Colorado Springs and the pheromones they produce," Mr. Shepard said with some retrospective humor. "I spent one summer between my ninth and tenth grades cutting off the abdomens of these ants and squeezing out the pheromones. I got many stings and bites. But it made for a nice visual aid for my poster presentation."

Over the course of several months, the filmmakers traveled to many science fairs -- a majority on the East Coast -- until finding their three main characters, all who demolish the stereotype of the geek: Ana Cisneros, a first-generation American of Ecuadoran parents, who challenges ideas of who can become a scientist; Pakistani-born Harmain Khan, who travels eight hours by bus to work in a lab; and Kelydra Welcker, who devotes her research to environmental concerns in the polluted sections of her West Virginia hometown. . .causing friction between her father, a former DuPont chemist and the other members of the town.

"We were so moved about how motivated these kids are," Mr. Duca said. "Every week they are going to a competition somewhere." The history of this county, said Mr. Shepard, is a history of science and immigration. "People come to America and science is an opportunity for upward mobility. And for some reason, a high proportion of scientists are immigrants, kids who moved to America when they were young, or children of immigrants. And you see that in our cast."

"They all capture the spirit of making a difference, this spirit of taking on difficult problems and putting the U.S. back on the map," he added. "The kids are really doing that."

Part of the reason that Mr. Duca and Mr. Shepard made the film was the climate of the Bush administration, which they said was antagonistic to science.

The portraits in "Whiz Kids," the filmmakers hope, will humanize scientists to those who can't relate. "Scientists are you and me," Mr. Duca said.

The filmmakers intend the two screenings of the film to serve as a sneak preview before the film hits the festival circuit. But beyond that, the filmmakers intend to take the film into the halls of power in Washington, with a congressional screening high on their wish list.

They also hope to show the film in high schools (plans for a screening at Santa Barbara High, Mr. Duca's alma mater, are in the works) and create buzz for another generation.

So forget the idea of the Bunsen burning geek. Science has life-changing possibilities, and it is all starting at that most difficult of ages.

"We really wanted to present these kids as fully dimensional," said Mr. Shepard.

"On one hand, they are doing a level of research that is as sophisticated as some post-doctorate work. On the other hand, they are 16-, 17-year-olds and going through the same trials and tribulations as other teenagers."