The Stars Are Comforting

Raised in New Plymouth, New Zealand, Beatrice Tinsley was the first person to fully articulate and demonstrate in the 1960s that the universe will expand forever. Considered nowadays as the "grandmother of cosmology," her models are used to this day to understand the evolution of galaxies.

Though her ideas prevail, it took years for Beatrice to establish herself. At a time where cosmology is an emerging field, she must juggle a difficult marriage, a lack of social support and the jealousy of her peers to get her ideas recognised.

As Beatrice's mind discovers a universe forever expanding, her years in Dallas, Texas are spent feeling trapped in her marriage and isolated from the scientific community.

"The Stars are Comforting" follows

one of the brightest minds to have ever come out of New Zealand, retracing the

footsteps of a woman's struggle to get her ideas heard in a 1960s world.

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BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP! The documentary has so far been entirely self-funded and we were able to interview some of Beatrice's relatives, family and colleagues across New Zealand.

We currently have a rough cut of the documentary and the next step is to refine the edit and add some animation to reenact some of the scenes that happened in the United States.

Funding would go towards covering post-production (editing, animation, sound mix, colour grading) so we can tell this story in the most compelling way possible. "The Stars Are Comforting" will be screened in planetariums across New Zealand with the aim to familiarise young Kiwis with her work.