Repost: Slingshot (October 10th at 7:00 pm at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival)

[SLINGSHOT Screens Friday October 10th at 7:00 pm at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

At one point in Paul Lazarus' documentary SLINGSHOT, inventor Dean Kamen bemoans the fact that America makes heroes out of athletes, musicians, and movie stars, while the inventors and scientists who genuinely make life better for all of us labor in relative obscurity. One need look no further than Kamen himself for support of this thesis. He's responsible for such medical devices as the home dialysis machine, an insulin pump, and an all-terrain wheel chair, all very successful. And yet what is he best known for, if anything? The Segway, a two-wheeled electric people mover that even Kamen views as somewhat of a failure.

Slingshot (March 27th and 28th at the Cleveland International Film Festival)

[SLINGSHOT Screens Thursday March 27th at 8:45 pm and Friday March 28th at 2:40 pm at the Cleveland International Film Festival.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

At one point in Paul Lazarus' documentary SLINGSHOT, inventor Dean Kamen bemoans the fact that America makes heroes out of athletes, musicians, and movie stars, while the inventors and scientists who genuinely make life better for all of us labor in relative obscurity. One need look no further than Kamen himself for support of this thesis. He's responsible for such medical devices as the home dialysis machine, an insulin pump, and an all-terrain wheel chair, all very successful. And yet what is he best known for, if anything? The Segway, a two-wheeled electric people mover that even Kamen views as somewhat of a failure.