Swissnex, in collaboration with the Swiss diplomatic missions in India and CERN, presents The Peace Particle Series, exploring how international scientific collaboration can foster dialogue, trust and cooperation in an increasingly fragmented world.
At the heart of the series is The Peace Particle (2025), a documentary marking CERN’s 70-year legacy as a place where scientists from across the world come together to pursue fundamental research. Featuring Nobel laureates, rare archival footage and an inside look at the Large Hadron Collider, the film explores how science can transcend political boundaries and create spaces for dialogue and peace.
The Bengaluru screening takes place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium on 10 September, in partnership with the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR) and Science Gallery Bengaluru. It will be followed by a panel discussion on the role of science diplomacy in addressing today’s global challenges, moderated by Jahnavi Phalkey.
Prof John Ellis CBE FRS
Clerk Maxwell Professor of Theoretical Physics, King’s College London & Visiting Scientist, CERN
Prof John Ellis is one of the world’s leading theoretical particle physicists. His pioneering work helped develop strategies for discovering the Higgs boson and the gluon, including the prediction of distinctive three-jet events that led to the gluon’s discovery. His research has also shaped theories and searches for dark matter, supersymmetry and physics beyond the Standard Model. He helped popularize the term “Theory of Everything” and coined the famous “Penguin diagram”. A longtime CERN adviser on international collaboration, he has championed international scientific diplomacy, including CERN’s longstanding partnership with India.
Alex Kiehl
Filmmaker, Director & Producer — The Peace Particle
Alex Kiehl is a documentary filmmaker whose work has received BAFTA, Grierson, RTS and Emmy nominations. With over 20 years of experience making high-end documentaries for Netflix, BBC, Disney, Discovery and ARTE, he specialises in combining cinematic scale with deeply human stories. His latest feature documentary, "The Peace Particle", explores CERN’s extraordinary history, groundbreaking discoveries and enduring ideal of international scientific collaboration. An Official Selection at CPH:DOX 2026, the film combines rare archive footage, special access to the Large Hadron Collider and interviews with leading scientists to explore CERN’s remarkable story, and the enduring question of whether science can help build peace across borders.