Space Tourists (Trailer)

Space Tourists is a feature-length documentary directed by Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei, which premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in 2009 and won the "World Cinema Directing Award" at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. The film contrasts the futuristic fantasy of space travel with the realities on Earth. It features the journeys of wealthy space tourists, such as Anousheh Ansari, the first female space traveler who paid $20 million for her flight, with the lives of poor Kazakh metal collectors who risk their lives scavenging for rocket debris. The film also features Charles Simonyi, chief developer of Word and Excel, and Dumitru Popescu, CEO of ARCA Space Corporation, an aerospace enthusiast competing for the Google Lunar X-Prize. With extraordinary access and first-time images, Space Tourists explores the emotional highs and lows of space tourism, questioning the boundaries of the human spirit and our hunger for adventure and discovery. Critics have praised the film for its breathtaking imagery, rich insights, and the connection between the glamorous and gritty sides of space exploration. The film has received multiple awards and nominations, including the World Cinema Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival (2010), Best Photography Award at Beldocs Belgrad (2010), Eurodok Award at European Documentary Film Festival Oslo (2010), Special Jury Prize at EBS International Documentary Film Festival Seoul (2010), and Jury Prize "Best of Doc" at DOC: The Documentary Channel (2012).