SlingShot

An inspiring, endearing documentary, SlingShot focuses on Dean Kamen, an iconoclastic inventor who has tackled a number of thorny problems by looking at them in non-traditional ways. Best known for creating the Segway motorized scooter, Kamen has also invented a home unit for dialysis; wearable pump devices for people who need insulin and other medications; a wheelchair that climbs stairs and raises its disabled passengers upward to overcome heights; and much more. Director Paul Lazarus follows Kamen through his work at various research and development businesses, along the way revealing his subject's disarming, self-deprecating charm and humbling sense of purpose. SlingShot spends much time capturing Kamen's extraordinary work in building a foundation that encourages young inventors, as well as his dedication to solving the world's crisis involving the dwindling supply of clean drinking water. Kamen's invention of a portable, inexpensive, energy-efficient vapor compression distiller that can turn any fetid water drinkable—and his attempts to find a way to distribute these machines where most needed—is an amazing story in and of itself. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)