Blastoff is set for a new event in the of heart Space City, Houston, that blends science, art and cinema and features footage that’s literally out of this world.
The inaugural CineSpace short film competition at this year’s Houston Cinema Arts Festival is set for Friday, Nov. 13, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, made possible by a new partnership between NASA and the Houston Cinema Arts Society. More than a dozen space-themed films and programs have been “green-lighted” to air on what is being dubbed “CineSpace Day.”
The day will include a presentation with NASA astronaut Don Pettit of the top 16 entries from the CineSpace competition – along with an announcement of the five winners – who were selected by Houston-born director Richard Linklater and NASA, and will earn a total $26,000 in cash prizes.
CineSpace Day also will feature:
- Texas natives Luke Wilson and Andrew Wilson presenting their short film Satellite Beach;
- A 20th-anniversary screening of Apollo 13 with Academy Award-nominated screenwriters William Broyles Jr., a Houston native, and Al Reinert, along with Jeffrey Kluger, author of the book on which the film was based;
- TIME Magazine’s A Year in Space documentary series that follows astronaut Scott Kelly’s year-long mission aboard the International Space Station, and
- Renowned visual artist Marco Brambilla’s video installation Apollo XVIII.
Throughout the festival, there will be a “Cinema on the Verge” CineSpace Art Exhibition on display at the She Works Flexible gallery in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood, featuring five artists who explore space through video, photography, animation and drawing. In addition, Aurora Picture Show will host Kidlat Tahimik, the father of new Filipino cinema, whose character in the two films he will present at the festival (The Perfumed Nightmare and Who Invented the Yoyo? Who Invented the Moon Buggy?) aspires to build a Third World competitor to NASA.
To request festival press passes, please contact Nick Scurfield at 713-978-5050 or
The Houston Cinema Arts Society is a non-profit organization created in 2008 that organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative arts festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing and literary arts. The Seventh Annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival will take place Nov. 12-19, 2015.
NASA’s journeys into air and space continue to power inspiration that encourages future generations to explore, learn and build a better future. The next decade of exploration will be a time of rapid advancement and innovation as humanity stands poised to take the journey to Mars.
For more information about the Houston Cinema Arts Festival, visit:
http://houstoncinemaartsfestival.org/
For more information on CineSpace, visit:
http://www.cinespace15.org
For more information about the Houston Cinema Arts Society, visit:
http://www.cinemartsociety.org
For more about NASA, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Dan Huot
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov
Nick Scurfield
Houston Cinema Arts Society
713-978-5050
nick@onthemarkcom.com