(Passive Experience – 360 Theater)

This immersive 360 VR video explores impacts and collisions between bodies in the solar system, shedding light on the origins of our cosmic backyard. It is inspired by the work of Dr Katarina Miljković, a planetary scientist who specialises in planetary geoscience and space exploration at Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre in Perth, Western Australia. Combining space imagery from NASA, observational footage of Miljković at work and recreated scenes of the moments that propelled her on the path towards a career in Planetary Science, the project seeks to inspire an audience of all ages and to promote STEM learning for girls.

Director Biography – Kath Dooley

Kath Dooley is a Perth-based screenwriter, director and academic. Since graduating from the film department of Flinders University in Adelaide in 2000, Kath has written and directed a number of award-winning projects, including short films, music videos, corporate videos and moving image works. Her graduation film The President of the Golf Club was awarded the Jury Prize at the South Australian Young Film Makers Awards in 2000, as well being a finalist at a range of Australian film festivals. This success led to the production of Stewardess School, a music video funded by the South Australian Film Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Commission, which screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and won ‘Best Film clip’ at the 2004 South Australian ‘Zoom’ Awards. In 2008, Joyeux Anniversaire Maman, a mockumentary created for the Adelaide Film Festival’s ‘FAKE’ competition, also screened at the ‘Cannes in a Van’ mobile cinema during the French Cannes Film Festival.

After living in France for two years and returning to Adelaide to take up a postgraduate scholarship in 2010, Kath completed a creative PhD study on the directorial approach of French directors Claire Denis and Catherine Breillat in 2014. Kath wrote and directed a 28-minute drama, The Sister, as part of her PhD project, which was nominated for a 2013 Australian Teachers of media (ATOM) Award and shortlisted across 5 categories at the South Australian Short Screen Awards of the same year.

As a screen practitioner and academic, Kath explores screen methodologies and formats through creative practice. Impact: Beyond the Night Sky is part of a research project that investigates issues for practitioners working with the 360 VR medium.

Director Statement
This project came together after I met Katarina Miljkovic at Curtin University. When she talked to me about her work, I was instantly engaged.

Winner of a prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship, Miljković was the only Australian chosen to take part in NASA’s current Mars InSight Mission. This project sees her analyse data from space missions as an active member of the international planetary exploration team. She was previously involved in the lunar gravity NASA GRAIL mission.

This documentary foregrounds Miljković’s passion for her work by capturing the sense of awe and wonder that she felt as a young person looking up into the night sky, a feeling that continues to inform her journey in planetary science.