The Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light is now coming to the cinema: TRACING LIGHT – die Magie des Lichts

The award-winning filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer spent two years following scientists and artists who have dedicated themselves to working with light. Prof. Daniele Faccio and his Extreme Light Group at the University of Glasgow, the artist duos Semiconductor and Brunner/Ritz, Dr. Pascal Del'Haye's team at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and land artist Julie Brook have all taken an experimental approach to exploring the multifaceted aspects of light. The result is the film TRACING LIGHT – die Magie des Lichts, which explores one of the most important natural phenomena in fascinating images and encounters.

What is the essence of light? How does it behave in its enigmatic dual form as both wave and particle? Does light change when we see it? What is the relationship between light, space, and time? The Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light is the ideal location to find answers to these questions. Here, scientists from over 50 countries conduct basic research on all aspects of the interaction between light and matter and its applications. Their research aims to expand the realm of possibility within the science and technology of light. 
Among them is Dr. Pascal Del'Haye, head of the independent research group "Microphotonics" and one of the three scientific protagonists in TRACING LIGHT. The film's illuminating journey sees the physicist and the artist duo Brunner/Ritz explore the limits of human imagination – how can light be both a wave and a particle at the same time? What happens to light when it falls into a black hole? Using the physical laws of nature and quantum physics, the unusual trio explores the peculiarities of light in a slightly playful way, oscillating between physics and art in order to make light tangible for the audience in all its complexity. 

The focus of Pascal Del'Haye and his team’s research is on photonic microchips that can be used for optical circuits, sensors, time measurements, and quantum experiments with light. Most of this research is based on devices known as “microresonators,” which are the size of a human hair and can store light on a chip. These ring-shaped light storage units can be charged with light outputs of up to one megawatt. The high power levels then allow further properties of the light to be investigated. Through clever wiring, Del'Haye's team is able to create frequency combs that convert monochromatic light into multicolored light and can be used as optical rulers for measuring space and time with light. Pascal Del'Haye has previously conducted research at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Boulder CO, USA, and the National Physical Laboratory Teddington, UK, and he has taught at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU). His numerous scientific accolades include an ERC Starting Grant, the EFTF Young Scientist Award, the NPL Rayleigh Award, and the Helmholtz Prize for Metrology.

TRACING LIGHT is released in cinemas from January 16, 2025. The premiere tour reaches Langen on January 18, at the Lamm Lichtspiele (Hauptstraße 86, 91054 Erlangen). Following the screening, director Thomas Riedelsheimer and featured scientist Dr. Pascal Del'Haye will share their personal experiences with the audience, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film and taking questions from the audience. For the Max Planck scientist, this is the first in a series of events at the MPL marking the "International Year of Quantum Science and Quantum Technologies". 

All dates in the premiere tour:

Mon, Jan 13, 2025 | 8:30 pm | Frankfurt | Cinema
Tue, Jan 14, 2025 | BR Media Partnership Premiere
Wed, Jan 15, 2025 | 6:15 pm | Hamburg | Abaton
Thu, Jan 16, 2025 | 4:30 pm | Berlin | Bundesplatz Kino 
Thu, Jan 16, 2025 | 8 pm | Berlin | DelphiLux 
Fri, Jan 17, 2025 | 7:30 pm | Dresden | Programmkino Ost, Körners Corner
Sat, Jan 18, 2025 | 5:30 pm | Erlangen | Lamm Lichtspiele – With Pascal Del'Haye & MPI Team

Award-winning filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer, known for his artist portraits Rivers and Tides with Andy Goldsworthy and Touch the Sound with Evelyn Glennie, presents another impressive film.

In TRACING LIGHT, Thomas Riedelsheimer accompanies both scientific and artistic processes, turning the light in the world – as we can see and experience it – into a mysterious and fascinating protagonist. His poetic view of everyday life, the fascinating findings from science, and the imaginative translation of this knowledge into sensual works of art all merge, forming the narrative and dramaturgical levels of the film.


Comments from the critics

Light like you've never seen it before …
Space is time and time is light.
CINEUROPA

Fascinating ... Tracing Light strikes the perfect balance between knowledge and beauty.
SCREENDAILY

Riedelsheimer has mastered the art of getting to the bottom of things while still leaving them magical and mysterious, in a wonderful and fascinating way.
BR KULTUR

Full of magic and sensuality.
SCREEN SCOTLAND

Thomas Riedelsheimer's films are a delightful celebration of light and sound. They sharpen our senses.
CHRISTOPH TERHECHTE, DOK LEIPZIG

Visually impressive and profound ... Tracing Light allows us to experience and understand light in a completely new way.
KINO.DE

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