Obviously, I’m not an astronaut. But this documentary being an analysis of that world and what it took to explore space through the Apollo missions in the late ’60s covered a topic I wasn’t very familiar with. That was especially true when it came to the influence of Jim Lovell, who I knew very little about.

I’ve seen the movies, and I know most of the names, but the exploration and journey they all took was something I wasn’t as familiar with.

I also had no idea that the Apollo 13 mission was the first time an event like that was broadcast around the entire world. That feels even more surreal in a day and age where Twitch streamers can generate more live viewers than most network channels do now in their entire broadcasting year.

It was a beautiful analysis of how the world was united over the return of these astronauts. The way the director, Avi Belkin, crafted this documentary together was also absolutely incredible, using over 2,500 hours of archival footage. I briefly spoke with him about it, and he expressed how immense the responsibility was to have every different aspect of that footage used throughout the film.

There were even audio recordings connected to astronauts dying during the Apollo 1 fire, which was something I did not expect to hear. This entire documentary was also very family-friendly, which to me is one of the most impressive parts of it as a middle school teacher who would love to show this to students one day.

The screening was also very special because we happened to watch it with, and have a Q&A with, Victor Glover. He is an astronaut on the Artemis II mission, which in its own way is helping unite the world together for this new generation of a space race.

The epilogue of this entire documentary was just that.

I felt that it was unbelievably brilliant and it is a documentary that I plan on watching again, showing my family, and purchasing on Blu-ray if it’s ever available. Just brilliant.

All photos from this event were provided by Trey Mitchell. 

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