Safecast: the documentary

If, like us, you spent much of the summer of 2011 surfing the internet for radiation readings, you'll probably be familiar with Safecast. In the immediate aftermath of March 11, a group of digitally savvy entrepreneurs – including MIT Media Lab boss Joi Ito and LA-based social media maven Sean Bonner – set out to build an open-source sensor network that could provide detailed radiation readings for the whole country. With a small army of volunteers at their disposal, and geek pals who could help them make their own geiger counters, the NPO ended up developing into a global concern that could measure baseline radiation levels worldwide, as well as other environmental factors like air pollution – then make all the data available for free online.

Tokyo-based filmmaker Adrian Storey (who – full disclosure – is an occasional Time Out drinking buddy) has condensed this story into a three-minute documentary that's in the running for this year's Focus Forward short film contest. You can watch the film below, and check out the other semi-finalists here before casting a vote for your favourite. Voting for the contest's audience award is open until December 20, but the finalists will be announced on November 28, with a top prize of $100,000 due to be awarded at Sundance Film Festival in January.

Safecast | Adrian Storey from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.