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A Space Program screen this Friday through Sunday (July 1st – 3rd) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood, Webster Groves, Mo 63119). The film begins each evening at 8:00.

In A Space Program, internationally acclaimed artist Tom Sachs takes us on an intricately handmade journey to the red planet, providing audiences with an intimate, first person look into his studio and methods. The film is both a piece of art in its own right and a recording of Sachs’ historic piece, Space Program 2.0: Mars, which opened at New York’s Park Avenue Armory in 2012.

For Space Program 2.0: Mars, Tom and his team built an entire space program from scratch. They were guided by the philosophy of bricolage: creating and constructing from available yet limited resources. They ultimately sent two female astronauts to Mars in search of the answer to humankind’s ultimate question… are we alone?

Directed by Van Neistat,...

A work of documentation, as opposed to a pure documentary, A Space Program offers a vision of what The Martian might look like as directed by the heroes of Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind. Directed by Van Neistat and inspired by Tom Sachs’ large-scale installation simulating a Nasa mission to Mars in an art gallery, the film is a gleeful exploration in Diy. Sachs’ space program, first launched in 2007 in Los Angeles, was a simple mission to the moon before debuting at New York City’s Armory show in 2012. The installation is immersive, requiring audiences to move from room to room, simulating cross-cutting as the locations change from a control room to the actual mission This filmed version is a hybrid of performance documentation and narrative filmmaking, reflecting the inherent drama of the space program.

Exploring the expertise of each team member and their material of interest, we learn...

The moon landing conspiracy theories have been around -- and a constant subject for documentaries and narrative films -- since Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon in 1969.   The story goes that Stanley Kubrick was hired by Nasa to fake it because they didn't have resources or technology and were on tight deadline from the commander in chief. It was the Cold War era and the space race was on full swing. There are at least a couple of movies that are already out about this very subject this year alone: Antoine Bardou Jacquet's Moonwalkers and Matt Johnson's Operation Avalanche.   In keeping with this tradition, A Space Program, directed by Van Neistat (HBO's The Neistat Brothers), documents Tom Sachs' 2012 interactive installation...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Documenting Tom Sachs’s art project that imagined a journey into space, this is a funny, invigorating and inspirational ode to being the cleverest kid in the room

As Aaron Sorkin, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Shane Carruth will remind you, Nasa spent millions designing a pen that worked in zero-gravity, while the Russians solved the problem by using a pencil. Unfortunately, the story is apocryphal but it speaks to a broader truth: it pays to be crafty!

Nowhere does the melange of cutting-edge science and grade school homework come together as wonderfully as in A Space Program, Van Neistat’s quasi-documentary of contemporary artist Tom Sachs’s 2012 conceptual piece Space Program 2.0: Mars, held at New York’s Park Avenue Armory. In addition to being a funny, invigorating and inspirational ode to being the cleverest kid in the room, it’s a remarkable testament to the suspension of disbelief. I...

If Hollywood’s newfound fascination with outerspace in The Martian, Interstellar, Gravity and others have one feeling let down in terms of adhering to the functional specifics, look no further than A Space Program, a film described by one (very positive) review as a “mockumentary / performance piece [that’s] sci-fi by way of Wes Anderson.” The cinematic condensing of Van Neistat and Tom Sachs‘ New York installation will arrive in limited release this week, and today we’re pleased to present an exclusive clip.

Said to work as “a handmade Space Odyssey–playing wryly with industrial filmmaking, invoking everything from Charles & Ray Eames to chemistry class safety videos (with a dollop of Ed Wood) in a gleeful demonstration of engineering and creativity,” these qualities are fully on display as we can see the crew preparing to launch. Check out the clip below, along with the filmmakers’ how-to guide to prepare for the film.

Consider this pair of trailers a yin-yang situation — speaking for their focuses and scale of production, and hopefully not at all of quality. Entering a limited release this month is A Space Program, a title described by one (very positive) review as a “mockumentary / performance piece [that’s] sci-fi by way of Wes Anderson.” The cinematic condensing of Van Neistat and Tom Sachs‘ New York installation earned some good buzz upon hitting SXSW last year, and its trailer (via Apple) does a fine job of raising questions as to where, exactly, the line between reality and presentation rests.

Also entering a limited release this spring, albeit on a much bigger scale (ar ar ar), is A Beautiful Planet, the IMAX-presented, Jennifer Lawrence-narrated documentary that looks upon the earth with footage captured by the International Space Station. It might turn out to be little more than space porn — but if seen in an optimal IMAX 3D presentation,...

Each weekend we highlight the best repertory programming that New York City has to offer, and it’s about to get even better. Opening on February 19th at 7 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side is Metrograph, the city’s newest indie movie theater. Sporting two screens, they’ve announced their first slate, which includes retrospectives for Fassbinder, Wiseman, Eustache, and more, special programs such as an ode to the moviegoing experience, and new independent features that we’ve admired on the festival circuit (including Afternoon, Office 3D, and Measure of a Man).

Artistic and Programming Director Jacob Perlin says in a press release, “Jean Eustache in a Rocky t-shirt. This is the image we had in mind while making this first calendar. Great cinema is there, wherever you can find it. The dismissed film now recognized as a classic, the forgotten box-office hit newly resurrected, the high and the low,...

Read More: Zeitgeist Films Acquires Tom Sachs' and Van Neistat's 'A Space Program' Zeitgeist Films has acquired distribution rights to "Eva Hesse," a documentary that focuses on the life of the titular star. The film marks the debut of director Marcie Begleiter and is produced by Karen S. Shapiro ("Beat the Drum") and Michael P. Aust ("Pommes essen").  Eva Hesse was a German-born American artist who quickly rose to fame in the New York art scene thanks to 20-group shows and a cover article for "ArtForum" magazine. She died at the age of 34 that same year from a brain tumor. The documentary also covers Hesse's life as a Jew in 1930's Hamburg, her narrow escape to New York and her transformation into a pioneer in sculpting. Zeitgeist Co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo released the following statement in regards to the acquisition: "[We] have been following this...

Read More: SXSW Exclusive: Get Ready For Launch With Clip From 'A Space Program' Zeitgeist Films has announced its acquisition of by Tom Sachs' and Van Neistat's "A Space Program," which premiered earlier this year at South by Southwest. "A Space Program" is the feature film followup to Sachs' 2012 installation piece "Space Program 2.0: Mars," in which Sachs built his own mission to Mars with his artistic team. The film invites the viewer on an intricate, hand-made journey to Mars that both documents Sachs' artistic methods and seeks answers to some of humankind's most eternal questions. Zeitgeist Co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo said. "[We were] completely blown away when we saw Tom’s show at the Park Avenue Armory. 'A Space Program' is a captivating introduction to Sachs’ work for the uninitiated and required viewing for his longtime fans. We are thrilled to have it as part of our catalog.