How a catastrophe rewrote the history of Earth: VUB research premieres at Docville

On 27 March 2025, during Docville – Belgium’s leading documentary film festival – the scientific documentary ‘De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen’ will premiere. The film, which opens the science programme ScienceVille, is based on research from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and sheds new light on the end of the dinosaur era and the catastrophic consequences of the Chicxulub asteroid impact.

Dinosaurs have fascinated us for centuries, but how – and why – did they suddenly disappear from the surface of the Earth? De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen is not a traditional nature documentary, but a scientific true crime that reconstructs, second by second, what happened 66 million years ago, on the day an asteroid the size of Brussels changed life on Earth forever.

When the Chicxulub asteroid struck, it launched a massive amount of fine dust into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight from reaching the Earth’s surface for years. Temperatures dropped by more than 15 degrees Celsius, photosynthesis stopped and entire ecosystems collapsed. It marked the beginning of a mass extinction that wiped out not only the dinosaurs, but also three quarters of all life on Earth.

But this film is more than just a factual reconstruction. It blends science with wonder, melancholy and a touch of absurdity. Why do we remain so fascinated by these extinct giants? And is our love for dinosaurs actually unrequited?

From scientific discovery to cinema

The research behind the documentary was conducted by a team led by planetary scientist Cem Berk Şenel and geologist Pim Kaskes, both affiliated with the VUB-research group Archaeology, Environmental Changes & Geochemistry (AMGC). “Our study shows how the fine dust released by the impact played a crucial role in creating years of darkness on our planet which eventually triggered the mass extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs,” says Kaskes. “This single catastrophic event radically changed the course of evolution. So, we felt it was essential to visually bring to life this spectacular moment in Earth’s history,” adds Şenel.

Their idea found support: the researchers won the Science Pitch 2024, a Docville initiative that connects scientists and filmmakers. Thanks to the production budget, they were able to turn their scientific insights into a cinematic narrative, together with directors Maria and Frederik Stuut, and in collaboration with paleontologist Johan Vellekoop of KU Leuven and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels.

Through impressive footage from fieldwork in North America to lab work and computer simulations in Brussels, the documentary shows how one catastrophic day rewrote the course of life on Earth.

Science Pitch 2025: new opportunities for researchers and filmmakers

Docville is once again organising the Science Pitch this year, giving scientists from Flemish universities and filmmakers the chance to collaboratively develop a creative, auteur-driven documentary on a scientific theme. Selected projects will receive a production budget of €60,000 and will premiere at Docville 2026.

From left to right: planetary scientist Cem Berk Senel (ROB-VUB), paleontologist Johan Vellekoop (KU Leuven and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels) and geologist Pim Kaskes (VUB), studying and sampling the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary layer in Colorado, USA (photo: Maria Stuut).From left to right: geologist Pim Kaskes (VUB), planetary scientist Cem Berk Senel (ROB-VUB) and paleontologist Johan Vellekoop (right; KU Leuven and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels), pointing at a rock layer in Colorado (USA) that captures the moment of the asteroid impact and extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago (photo: Maria Stuut).

The journey of the sediment sample that preserves the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary: from the field in the USA (left), to being cut at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and being chemically analyzed at the AMGC Research group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (photos: Pim Kaskes).

Dr. Pim Kaskes (VUB) demonstrating to film makers Maria and Frederik Stuut the micro-X-ray fluorescence instrument at the AMGC Research Group, which was used to chemically analyze at a micrometer level the sedimentary layers produced by ejected material from the Chicxulub asteroid impact. By doing so it is possible to reconstruct the complex geological and biological processes in the first minutes to years after this fatal event 66 million years ago (photo: Cem Berk Senel).

Dr. Cem Berk Senel (ROB-VUB) explaining to film makers Maria and Frederik Stuut the partial differential equations needed to produce computer simulations of the dust cloud produced by the Chicxulub asteroid impact (photo: Pim Kaskes).Impression of the fieldwork area in Colorado (USA) where the scientists were studying rock layers deposited in an ancient river and swamp environment 66 million years ago (photo: Pim Kaskes).

Impression of the sometimes difficult sampling and filming conditions during the geological fieldwork in Colorado, USA, summer 2024. From left to right: Pim Kaskes, Frederik Stuut, Johan Vellekoop, Cem Berk Senel and Maria Stuut (photo: Pim Kaskes).Prof. Johan Vellekoop (KU Leuven) showing to film makers Maria and Frederik Stuut the microscopic fossil plant remains from the sediments surrounding the dinosaur mass extinction layer in Colorado, USA. By doing so it becomes possible to reconstruct the response of fossil plant life to the fine dust cloud and blockage of sunlight in the aftermath of the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66 million years ago (photo: Pim Kaskes).

Impression from the documentary ‘De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen’, which questions where human's eternal fascination with the dinosaur comes from (credits: Docville - Maria and Frederik Stuut - ‘De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen’).

Impression from the documentary ‘De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen’, which questions where human's eternal fascination with the dinosaur comes from (credits: Docville - Maria and Frederik Stuut - ‘De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen’).

From left to right: Pim Kaskes (VUB), Johan Vellekoop (KU Leuven and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels (RBINS)) and Thomas Goovaerts (RBINS) right after the sediment block from Colorado was cut open. This sediment slab yields the story of the first minutes to years after the catastrophic meteorite impact 66 million years ago (photo: Maria Stuut).

Practical information – ScienceVille

Thursday 27 March 2025, 8 PM – 10 PM
​Kinepolis Leuven – Hall 1, Bondgenotenlaan 145/149, 3000 Leuven
​Tickets for the premiere are available via the Docville website.
​The film will also be screened on April 2nd; tickets are available here.

Link to the research

The research by VUB scientists Cem Berk Şenel and Pim Kaskes was published in Nature Geoscience and can be read here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01290-4. ​
​An earlier VUB press release about this research can be read here: https://www.vub.be/en/news/vub-research-shows-fine-dust-heralded-end-dinosaurs

Interested in screening the film at an upcoming event?

Interested in screening the film 'De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen' combined with a lecture on how dust played a role in the demise of dinosaurs 66 million years ago? Contact info@daltondistribution.be and we will organize a screening together.

Contact

Eline Livémont (general info)
​eline.livemont@vub.be

Cem Berk Senel
​cem.berk.senel@vub.be
​+32 487 02 3814

Pim Kaskes
​pim.kaskes@vub.be
​+31 6 ​ 27308040

More info about AMGC: https://amgc.research.vub.be/ ​
​