Neon has released the first trailer for the documentary featureSpaceship Earth. The hot Sundance Film Festival feature from directorMatt Wolffollows the stranger-than-fiction but very, very real events of the ill-fated 1991 Biosphere 2 experiment where eight strangers locked themselves away in a self-sustaining biosphere in order to see if life in that environment could be sustained on other planets.
If you’re were a fan of the wilder than wild Netflix docsWild Wild CountryorTiger King, thenSpaceship Earthis right up your alley. As the trailer teases, this true story is filled with twists and turns almost too surreal to be believed as a small group of humans tried to do something extraordinary. In a statement onSpaceship Earth, Wolf details his initial impetus to make a documentary about the Biosphere 2 project.
“I was nine years old when the biospherians embarked on their mission, and despite the media fanfare, I had no recollection of this historic experiment. It wasn’t until two years ago, that I came across a series of intriguing images of eight men and women in bright red jumpsuits, standing in front of a monumental glass pyramid. I assumed these images were staged for a science fiction film, but when I learned that this is in fact a real structure, and that its inventors and participants are alive, I was determined to tell their remarkable story. How could something so epic in its ambition and scope fade from collective memory? These are the types of forgotten histories that inspire me as a filmmaker, and I was convinced that the prevailing narrative that Biosphere 2 was simply a ‘failure’ is wrong. […]Spaceship Earthis about small groups as a model for realizing unprecedented projects.”
Neon will be releasingSpaceship Earthon a variety of platforms on May 8. The documentary will be released theatrically into those theaters who anticipate being open for business as well as drive-ins and select pop-up cityscape projects (which will be conducted while observing proper COVID-19 health and safety guidelines). For those who opt to stay at home, you’ll be able to watchSpaceship Earthon Hulu, digitally via Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, FandangoNow, Vudu, DIRECTV, and DISH, or on the websites for participating theaters.
Spaceship Earthdebuts May 8 on Hulu and digital. Check out the official trailer and poster below:
