A Moment in the Sun follows the story of a four-seat, solar-powered tandem bicycle that was built at the University of Queensland, Australia in the early 1980s. Long before the Green New Deal, solar pioneers grappled with the future of our planet. This is the story of one outlandish effort to change public opinion about renewable energy.

The film follows the trials and tribulations of the tandem team, the fledgling solar industry as it struggled against the dominance of fossil fuels, and a family’s life definded by the quest for renewable energy.

In the early days of solar vehicle racing, one of the most unlikely competitors was a Turkish nuclear physicist living in Australia named Ugur Ortabasi. He conceived a four-seated, solar-powered, tandem bicycle only a mother could love, but in true underdog fashion, it would go on to win the 1986 World Championships of Solar Vehicles. The story behind this unlikely victory was anything but sunshine and smooth sailing.