Screening includes discussion about space exploration
Michael Becker took a chance and it paid off. The Santa Fe filmmaker entered his film “Delivery From Earth” into the Lockheed Martin Filmmaker contest sponsored by the New Mexico Film Foundation. He was one of 30 New Mexico independent filmmakers who submitted an application for the grant.
In December, Becker’s film was shown prior to the Mars spaceship Orion test flight at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Wednesday, April 22, the film will be shown at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe. The 1:30 p.m. free screening also will have a member of Lockheed Martin speaking about the work it is doing on Orion. The film will then be on YouTube for viewing.
“This is a great opportunity,” Becker says. “There’s not a lot of space talk up here in Santa Fe. It will give the audience a chance to see what these people are doing with space exploration.”
The film follows a young Navajo boy and his family as they watch history in the making — the birth of the first human born on Mars.
It was shot primarily in Santa Fe, Gallup and the Navajo Nation with an almost entirely Native American cast.
Working with Native people on screen and off, Becker learned more about Native world views, which he hopes will be visible to the viewer.
He describes himself as a “space nut” and says the inspiration behind the film was finding an event that would draw the world together.
“I was looking at pictures
from the Apollo 11 moon landing,” he says. “There were photos of the entire world captivated. I began to think, what event would draw people like that together? I think the first human being born on Mars would do that.”
Laurence Price, Lockheed Martin Orion deputy manager, will give a presentation on the program. The event will also be a return to New Mexico for Price, who used to work in Los Alamos.
“I do miss it out there,” Price says. “It’ll be nice to see some old friends and meet new ones in discussing what we’re doing.”
Price says he’ll talk about the country’s deep-space exploration and show some video from the Orion test flight back in December.
The Orion project is something Price has been working on since 2004 and the footage he’s bringing has only been seen by a small group of people.
“We have video looking backwards as we’re entering the atmosphere at 20,000 miles per hour,” he says. “It’s turning the molecules to ions. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.”
Price says Lockheed Martin is looking for ways to reach out to the masses to teach about space exploration. This was the first time for a film contest.
“We have been trying to look into nontraditional forms of getting the word out on our programs,” he says. “We’re going to try and do this annually.”
FREE SCREENING: Eight New Mexico-made films will screen at the NM Film Fest Earth Day Film screenings at UNM West, 2600 College Blvd. NE in Rio Rancho. The screenings will run from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, April 24. The series has an eclectic screening of films all relating to our environment and our world, from many points of view, from the Tuareg people of North Africa to the varied cultures of New Mexico.
SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART.