Hot Docs

From the Oscar-nominated director of War Photographer comes a brilliant film about the new space race—space tourism—and all its startling ramifications for those left on the ground. The film follows American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari’s $20-million trip into space aboard a Russian rocket. While Ansari prepares to embark on her childhood dream, Christian Frei examines Russia’s once thriving space program through its now decrepit centre in Kazakhstan. The breathtaking images of Ansari’s flight and visit on the International Space Station are contrasted with salvage expeditions by rural Kazakh men, who collect the valuable but dangerous rocket debris that falls out of the sky after each flight. Winner of the World Cinema Directing Award for documentary at Sundance 2010, Space Tourists asks, Is this the future of space travel? - Shannon Abel.

Media Coverage

National Post (Capsule Review), BlogTO (Capsule Review), Eye Weekly (4-star Review)