Coming to select US theatres and VOD beginning next Friday, January 13 (plus Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox this Sunday, January 8): MAN ON A MISSION: RICHARD GARRIOTT’S ROAD TO THE STARS
Mike Woolf’s chronicle of a civilian’s space flight premiered at SXSW in 2010, where it also picked up an audience award. Distributor First Run Features has theatrical engagements currently planned through mid February – for more information, click here.
For years, Richard Garriott wished to follow in the footsteps of his father, NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, and travel into space. While his lack of perfect vision put a serious hurdle in his path, making him ineligible for the the space program, Richard’s success in the nascent field of computer game development resulted in a personal fortune that allowed him to realize his longheld dream. Woolf follows Richard Garriott, as he trains to become the first US second generation to travel into space as a private citizen – at the cost of $30 million and months of preparation. Garriott, who is supported in his plans by his dad, is a likeable and enviable guide through the rigorous training regiment. Arriving at Star City, the hub of the former Soviet cosmonaut training center, Woolf details everything from the molding needed to construct Garriott’s suit to Russian lessons to be able to read controls to emergency water splashdown drills. What should prove most fascinating to viewers, however, are the scenes filmed in space, with demonstrations of zero gravity life and a tour of the international space station.
what (not) to doc 