Tribeca Festival 2023
Author: Newsroom
THE SPACE RACE
Directed by Lisa Cortés and Emmy Award winner Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
Produced by: Alexandra Bowen, Aly Parker, Mark Monroe, Keero Birla, Lisa Cortés, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
Executive Produced by: Frank Marshall, Tony Rosenthal, Carolyn Bernstein, Leland Melvin
SYNOPSIS:
THE SPACE RACE weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden among many others. In THE SPACE RACE, directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists, and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight’s quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in THE SPACE RACE, turning science fiction into science fact, and forever redefining what “the right stuff” looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate, and a fresh history to explore.
DIRECTED BY: Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
FEATURING: Guion Bluford, Charles Bolden, Ed Dwight, Victor Glover, Frederick Gregory, Bernard Harris, Leland Melvin, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, Jessica Watkins
PRODUCED BY: Alexandra Bowen, Aly Parker, Mark Monroe, Keero Birla, Lisa Cortés, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Carolyn Bernstein, Frank Marshall, Leland Melvin, Tony Rosenthal
WRITER: Mark Monroe
SCREENWRITER: Mark Monroe
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
EDITOR: Robert A. Martinez
MUSIC BY: Anna Drubich, Jongnic Bontemps
WORLD PREMIERE – SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY – 2023 TRIBECA FESTIVAL
RUN TIME: 91 minutes