CineSpace 2019

From director Gabriela Iancu comes a documentary that celebrates the dedication of NASA’s space program to the successful landing of the first man on the Moon in July 1969, and the values that contributed to this historic moment: science, expertise, ingenuity, and hope. Drawn from thousands of hours of footage and original audio recordings from NASA's archives, we witness the Apollo 11 mission to land on the Moon. The cinematic event unfolds from sunrise on launch day to splashdown with immersive sound design.

From the blackout opening scene of the lunar day, revealing features of the Moon and the speech made by President John F. Kennedy, to the thoughtful and meticulous preparations for the launch and the apocalyptic lift-off to Neil Armstrong’s legendary walk, the historical events play out at an epic scale. Edited and directed in an observational style, the film becomes a portrait of the many faces of humanity, and documents a fearless leap forward, a dream of the optimistic people of America made true.

When a young man is rejected by his lover with the words “I just need space”, he endeavors to reach the stars to win back her heart. D I Z Z Y follows Tim Atlas’ pursuit as he creates a DIY, bootstrapping space campaign. On his journey, he meets an ally on the very same quest, perhaps even for the very same reason.

A great discovery regarding seven Earth-sized planets near our solar system has been made. This is a story about one girl’s lifelong obsession with the discovery and her struggle to be understood.

Join me, Fredrick Atom-Burger on an extraordinary adventure where we’ll be observing Homo Sapiens (Humans) in their newest habitat: The International Space Station. We will be exploring a day-in-the-life of these rare Homo Sapien Astronauts in Space. Inspired by NASA’s extraordinary achievements, this piece pays homage to modern documentary makers and their power of storytelling. Onwards and upwards!

At first, we see the "fiat lux" and the birth of humanity. Then the emancipation by lift-off and the search for contact with another world. Finally, we understand that the light rushing into the universe is the whole of humanity. Lift Off is about the curiosity and desire of humanity to go further. Our curiosity has enabled us to explore the farther reaches of space and continue to overcome barriers that cross our way. Curiosity is the key to taking us further and opening up possibilities.

Before the acronym STEM even existed, Dr. Pauline Beery Mack, Texas Woman’s University professor in the 1950s-1970s, pioneered in the quest for knowledge in science, technology and statistical research. Her advances in bone density provided NASA invaluable information for manned spaceflight, earning Mack a Silver Snoopy award presented by Astronaut Jim Lovell in 1970, a time when women scientists were rarely recognized among their male peers.

A fictional "lost" NASA recruitment reel from the year 1991 while the STS (space shuttle) program was in full swing; the campy short captures the joy of NASA employees working and supporting the shuttle from the ground, as well as astronauts operating the shuttle during liftoff, low Earth orbit, and landing. Nearly all shots are carefully constructed using archival references combined with modern-day footage, using visual effects to remaster existing archival videos and finally recorded to a 23-year-old VHS tape.

From the point of view of a small robot, this video seeks to tell the story starting from the launch of the SLS to the future city of Mars. Our habitat, the Nomadic Cloud, will accommodate a NASA crew of four, who will be the first humans ever to step foot on Mars. Our habitat is a movable lightweight structure that can be used as exploration equipment as well as a living space.

After the SLS launches, the manned and retrofitted Orion spacecraft will begin its extensive journey to Mars. During the journey to Mars, the robot will oversee the construction of the Nomadic Cloud using tools that were brought to Mars prior to this manned launch. Using mission recycled materials and local indigenous materials, together with facilities that can produce construction materials that can be 3D printed, the autonomous robotic arms will be able to manufacture an off-world habitat prior to the arrival of the astronauts.

Due to the characteristic of the construction materials, the light-weighted Nomadic Cloud can change its form and function based on its needs - Settle Mode, Exploration Mode and Moving Mode.

In the 1970s NASA sent a series of unmanned probes into space as part of the ambitious PIONEER and VOYAGER missions. PIONEER 10 was launched in 1972, designed to collect data on Jupiter for just 21 months before flying off into obsolescence. But some science writers and thinkers like Carl Sagan were curious about the longevity of PIONEER 10: what if this probe were to be encountered by an alien intelligence in a million (or billion) years? Sagan suggested inclusion of some kind of communication with the probe -- a "message in a bottle" to a possible distant civilization. NASA welcomed this suggestion and, prior to PIONEER 10's launch, hurriedly devised the "Pioneer Plaque," a gold tablet etched with coded bits of information about our planet and our species. Today, the Pioneer Plaque is still out there traveling somewhere in interstellar space, one of the farthest flung human-made objects in the universe.

Postcards from Miss Universe is a short documentary that recounts the story of the Pioneer Plaque. Taking cues from an expert narrator, and making use of official NASA mission reports and archival media, the film questions the nature of human self identity and the legacies of this grand, galactic project. What can we learn from this human communication across space and time?

Science and discovery heavily relies on imagination. So, we had a little help from children, whose imaginations are limitless. We interviewed children from 5 different countries and asked them "What do you think about space?". Then they gave us their drawings of their dreams of space. We then brought their dreams to life, with the use of CGI. That is why our film is called "Somnium", which means “dream” in Latin.

Space is mysterious, luminous and deep, but the sounds it emits are all the more mysterious. As humans, we are accustomed to the sounds we consume daily, but once immersed in the sounds made by planets, the stars and all of space, we are quickly taken by the unknown. One day, I surprised my son by playing the conductor of the planets, imagining that they can dance and sing. I took out my instruments and here is the result.

Ever been undecided about what to watch on TV? Two alien creatures channel-surf through the best and most bizarre TV stations the galaxy has to offer.

When preparations were being made for the historic Apollo 11 moon mission, three space stations around the globe were needed to keep track of the spaceflight. One was in California, one in Australia, and the third was in an unknown sleepy village in the middle of Spain. "The Most Ideal Place" shows the crucial role that the town of Fresnedillas played in July 1969. This documentary tells the story of the local Spaniards who unexpectedly became an important part of this monumental event.

On February 14th, 1990, one picture made us all feel small again. From over 6 billion kilometers away, Nasa’s Voyager I Probe turned back from where it had once come and snapped an iconic image of all of us, together, shrunken down to nearly the size of a pixel -- The Pale Blue Dot. Astrophysicist Carl Sagan personifies this image, encapsulating the sublime, the vastness of outer space, and the creations of the human race. Our differences are meaningless, and our only true hope for today are the innovations of yesterday and tomorrow.

Mission Specialist Laelynn Stewart has been fascinated with the unknown all of her life. The mission to Vindold, the rogue planet that fell into the orbit of our solar system, takes a turn when a strange noise is heard. She argues with Bryson about the potential of the icy planet. A catastrophic storm hits and reveals unearthly secrets.