Higgs, into the heart of imagination

Higgs — into the heart of imagination is a documentary about the quest for the Higgs particle, also known as the missing link of the Standard Model; or the Holy Grail of particle physics, and even The God Particle.

Higgs is a film about the curiosity, the passion, and the imaginative power of science. It covers a period of six years (2006-2012) and shows how the Dutch research team at CERN, headed by professor Stan Bentvelsen, is contributing to the construction of the Atlas detector and preparing itself for the hunt for the Higgs particle, once the LHC research project —the world’s biggest and most expensive experiment— will be launched. The documentary also contains exclusive footage of Peter Higgs, the British theoretical physicist for whom the particle is named, who talks about how he made his pioneer insight, back in 1964. Meanwhile, international scientists explain what a Higgs particle really is.
The documentary had its (first) première during IDFA 2009 at november 20th. The Dutch broadcaster Human showed the film on Dutch television on Thursday February the 4th 2010.
The second version was broadcasted on Dutch Television on Wednesday July the 4th 2012, only a few hours after CERN’s Director General, Rolf Heuer, stated: “As a layman I would now say: ‘I think we have it’.” This new edition adds most exclusive footage of Peter Higgs (a few days before July the 4th, 2012) at a summer school in Erice (Sicily), where he first starts to receive confidential messages that the particle named after him, might be discovered. He decides to fly to CERN and to attend the historic seminar. And then, on the morning of July 4th 2012, in front of a cheering and applauding auditorium, packed with physicists of various generations, he says, with tears in eyes and a big smile on his face: “For me it’s really an incredible thing that it’s happened in my life time”.

Higgs is the directorial debut of Hannie van den Bergh and Jan van den Berg; earlier they  created theater productions and multimedia projects under the title ‘The Imagination of Invisible Dimensions’: voyages of discovery to the borders of the naked eye and intellect, adventurous dialogues between art and science.

Concept, vooronderzoek & regie: Hannie van den Bergh & Jan van den Berg
Editor: Ben de Loenen
Muziek: Jacq Palinckx
Camera: Stef Tijdink, Sander Snoep, Rogier Timmermans
Geluid: Jac Vleeshouwers, Carla van der Meijs
Productie: Valérie Schuit, Viewpoint Productions

In samenwerking met de Humanistische Omroep Stichting (Human), het Nederlands Instituut voor Kern- en Hoge Energie Fysica (Nikhef) en Peter Delpeut.

trailer

film op NPO start holland Doc

Screenings

Higgs at University of Birmingham (UK)
(March 19 – 21, 2014)

Higgs at AFO (Olomouc, Czechoslovakia)
“Higgs Into the Heart of Imagination was selected for World competition at AFO (Academia film Olomouc), the International Festival of Science Documentary Films in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia (16. – 21. 4. 2013)

Higgs in Maastricht (27 February 2013)
Screening at Lumière Cinema Maastricht, in collaboration with Studium Generale

Higgs in Eindhoven (21 November 2012)
Screening at a Studium Generale programma of Eindhoven University of Technology

Higgs in Amsterdam (15 & 16 September 2012)
Two screenings at the The Science Park Amsterdam Film Festival (SPAFF), with an introduction by dr. Ivo van Vulpen (Nikhef)

Higgs update broadcasted on Dutch Television (4 July 2012)
On the very evening of CERN’s announcement of the discovery of the legendary Higgs boson, a highly updated version of the documentary – including footage of Peter Higgs on the eve of the history-making press conference – was broadcasted on Dutch Television.

Higgs in Amsterdam
Film&Science Festival 2012.
Awarded the Grand Prix of the Film&Science Festival Amsterdam 2012

HIGGS at the 360? Contemporary Science Film Festival in Moskou September 2011

Higgs at Coruna (Spain)