PRESS RELEASE

Total Solar Eclipse African American Style: Black Suns: An Astrophysics Adventure

Black Suns: An Astrophysics Adventure, a documentary about chasing eclipses and science dreams, chronicles the lives of two globe-trotting astrophysicists, Dr. Alphonse Sterling and Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, as they follow/document the two solar eclipses that occurred in 2012. The film is hosted by award-winning cultural astronomer Dr. Jarita Holbrook. Black Suns premiered on Friday, June 9 at the 7th Annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. There will be a screening at the AAS HEAD meeting in Sun Valley on Sunday, August 20. It will be screening August 26 @ 13:40 at the Bronzelens Film Festival in Atlanta (Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History 101 Auburn Ave NE). 

For this eclipse weekend we are offering a preview streaming special for $3.99 on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/blacksunseclipse).

Dr. Alphonse Sterling (http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/people/sterling/) of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, currently stationed in Japan: a man who had early success in the U.S., but left his home country to further cultivate his wide-ranging interests.

Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi (https://www.aps.org/careers/physicists/profiles/oluseyi.cfm)  of the Physics & Space Sciences department at the Florida Institute of Technology: a scientist who beat all the odds -- poverty, homelessness, single parent, poor early education, gang warfare -- to get to where he is today.

Dr. Jarita C Holbrook (https://www.facebook.com/drjaritaholbrook/)
Scientist and cultural anthropologist, Dr. Holbrook’s films include “Hubble’s Diverse Universe,” (HDU, exec prod/interviewer/editor, 2010) http://www.HDUmovie.com and "The Micro-X Rocket Project" (exec prod/interviewer/co-director, in production). 

Black Suns explores how and why the two men became scientists, their opposing paths and personalities, their struggles as minorities in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) field, and their noteworthy accomplishments to date. 

Why Is Black Suns Important?
Black Suns is for a general audience, but it is being created for our future – America’s children – especially those underserved communities whose math and science talents might be overlooked. The two scientists personal unveilings will intrigue and engage young people in these communities. Further, Alphonse and Hakeem exhibit different styles and personalities, dispelling the belief that only one type of person can become a successful scientist. Therefore, by following the two astrophysicists as they chase the two eclipses, it is the filmmakers’ goal to motivate young people so that they seek out their own incredible scientific journeys.

Follow the adventures on:
Twitter @blacksunsdoc
And on Facebook blacksunsdoc/ 

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