Apollo 11

On 20^th July 1969 the human race boldly went where no one had gone before, when the crew of Apollo 11 blasted from earth and landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong’s was the first foot on the moon, as he uttered the now immortalised words: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Produced by CNN films to mark the moon landing’s 50^th anniversary, this thrilling documentary (directed/produced and edited by Todd Douglas Miller, Dinosaur 13) takes the viewer on an extraordinary journey, making those space history facts we learnt in school come alive like never before.

With unprecedented access and woven together from over 10,000 hours of achieved imagery and audio, Apollo 11 is a masterclass in documentary filmmaking. Each frame, from NASA’s meticulous preparation, the take off, spaceflight, to that epic landing and return is a gripping, educational feast for the senses.

In April 1961, the Russians won round one of the space race by putting the first man into outer space. President Kennedy then began an aggressive expansion of America’s space programme and in September 1962 at Rice Stadium, Texas, JFK gave his rallying speech “We choose to go to the moon in this decade…” to get the country behind this adventurous mission. It worked and interest in space exploration went off like a rocket. It’s evident throughout this revealing documentary the extent of that passion and how the whole world was fired up and watching these historic achievements. 

Apollo 11 understandably doesn’t give much insight into the astronauts’ private lives; we are mainly watching men at work, but the film does show the authentic intimacy of the crew, the friendly banter and ultimate trust in colleagues along with the pure skill, dedication and drive to complete their iconic mission.

Laura Jorden

Apollo 11 is released in select cinemas on 28^th June 2019.

For further information about Sundance London 2019 visit here.

Read more reviews from the festival here.

Watch the trailer for Apollo 11 here: