Exploring the Ariel School Event of 1994 Salma Siddick and Randall Nickerson

Filmmaker Randall Nickerson and former Ariel School student Salma Siddick offer an informative presentation about the mass-sighting of an unidentified craft in Ruwa, Zimbabwe in 1994 at Ariel School, and the forthcoming documentary about the event and its aftermath. Nickerson has been investigating this subject for over ten years for his feature-length documentary, Ariel Phenomenon.

On September 16, 1994, more than sixty schoolchildren reported seeing an unidentified object land outside their schoolyard; some reported witnessing beings come out of the craft, and still others recalled a wordless message that was transmitted to them. Nickerson has tracked down and interviewed many of the students around the globe, as well as researched corresponding events that took place in the surrounding area in the days leading up to the event. His investigation also focused on BBC reporter Tim Leach who was the first news reporter on the scene and whose life was touched by the event, and on Dr. John Mack, the Harvard psychiatrist and alien abduction expert who traveled to Zimbabwe to conduct interviews with the children; Mack’s interest in the subject nearly cost him his career.

Nickerson’s presentation will discuss the days leading up to the sighting, as well as the investigations that occurred in the following months. Siddick will speak about her own memories from the time. Excerpts from the new feature-length film will be shown.