Bringing the big screen to the biggest minds
This January (2026), Harwell Campus reaches a remarkable milestone – 80 years of being a campus dedicated to science and innovation.
As part of the celebrations, we’re hosting The Light Reel Film Festival – an outdoor cinema extravaganza featuring films inspired by the world-class science and technology taking place on campus. All four screenings will take place in The Quad under a covered tent with a giant screen and comfy seating.
The listings are as follows:

Oppenheimer
Harwell became the UK’s nuclear energy research campus and several scientists who had worked with Oppenheimer on the Manhattan project came to work here.
We’re delighted to welcome Frank Close, Science Communicator extraordinaire, to give the expert introduction prior to this screening.
17th July 2025, 6:00 – 10:15 pm
Interstellar
Buckle up for a breathtaking journey across space and time.
We’re delighted to welcome Richard Lowe, CTO at Satellite Applications Catapult, to give the expert introduction prior to this screening.
18th July 2025, 6:30 – 10:00 pm


Wall-E
Harwell is home to dozens of companies who work on robotics and space travel (like Magdrive who develop new engines for spacecraft), and tackling climate change.
We’re delighted to welcome one of our campus robotics experts, to give the introduction prior to this screening.
19th July 2025, 3:45 – 6:25 pm
Mickey 17
Harwell is home to institutes and organisations working on using genetics to improve health (and definitely not for creating clones of actors – that’s best done by special effects!).
We’re delighted to welcome a campus expert on genetics to give the expert introduction prior to this screening.
19th July 2025, 7:00 – 10:00 pm
