About Spaceship Earth

"Spaceship Earth" is a gripping documentary about a group of eight visionaries who in 1991, spent two years quarantined inside a self-engineered replica of Earth's ecosystem called Bio-Dome 2. They set out to explore the possibilities of creating sustainable living environments that could potentially enable life on other planets.

Making / Production

The movie is directed by Matt Wolf and takes a deep dive into this monumental experiment using a mix of present-day interviews, archival footage, and stylized reconstruction of past events. It tracks the journey of these intrepid pioneers, examining the highs, lows, and ultimate legacy of their adventure.

Actors

• John Allen - The leader of the team, his relentless dedication and futuristic vision comes to life through his captivating performances.
• Kathelin Gray - As a project participant and co-creator, she brings a strong sense of practicality and depth to the crew dynamics.
• Margret Augustine - She was the co-founder and manager of the project, her role is significant in showing the project's leadership and managerial challenges.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• The film's name, “Spaceship Earth”, is borrowed from a term coined by Buckminster Fuller, who hypothesized that Earth was essentially a large spaceship with a finite amount of resources available.
• The original project cost around 150 million dollars, an enormous sum for such a speculative scientific venture during its time.
• The Biosphere 2 still exists and is now used by the University of Arizona for various research and educational programs.

Quotes

• "We are in the theater of evolution. We are not just observers, we are participators." - John Allen
• "It was very hard psychologically. You're always on stage. There are no weekends." - Kathelin Gray
• “We became incredibly attuned to the living machinery that was keeping us alive.” - Jane Poynter

Music, Soundtrack

• The captivating soundscape of the movie was scored by Owen Pallett, an accomplished Canadian composer. The music underscores the radical hope and deep-seated fears presented throughout the film.
• The soundtrack helps paint the otherworldly and at times intense emotional landscape of the onscreen journey, complimenting the visually rich documentary.