FILM SUMMARY
She Should Have Gone To The Moon presents a uniquely personal chapter in the history of the space race. It tells the astonishing story of the pilot and pioneer, Jerri Truhill, who was trained in 1961, as part of NASA’s top secret Mercury 13 programme, to become one of the First Lady Astronauts. The documentary is a lyrical journey propelled by childhood aspirations, shattered dreams and a lifelong battle against female stereotypes and male prejudice.
This is a film about Jerri Truhill’s ambition to conquer the unknown and the filmmaker’s fascination with a woman, who dared to break down all barriers in aviation. Set against the historical backdrop of the Space Race, the documentary both constructs an intimate portrait of Truhill and explores a unique chapter in American culture and society.
She Should Have Gone To The Moon constructs its narrative through two journeys, both past and present. In the film, the tough talking and sharp-witted Jerri Truhill looks back on her compelling life via a phone call with the filmmaker. This conversation becomes the catalyst for the director’s imagining of key events in Truhill’s potent narrative and inspires a journey to meet the heroine in Texas.
Along the way, the filmmaker places herself in Truhill’s story, first wandering across the surreal landscape of White Sands and then suspended in zero gravity inside a water tank.
Included are staged scenes, dreamt-up moments from Truhill’s story, which evoke the popular melodrama of 1950s American cinema. These fictional moments bridge the gaps of time and distance between the filmmaker and her subject. Their stylised and dreamlike quality is counterpointed by shots from both Truhill’s and NASA’s film archive.
The various strands produce the film’s heady timeline, as they circle through real and imagined spaces, past and present.
ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT
Download the Electronic Press Kit
KEY CREW
Alan Fountain – Executive Producer:
Alan Fountain is Head of Studies at Les Entrepreneurs de l’Audiovisuel Europeen, an advanced training programme for European film and television producers. He has worked in the film, television and media industries since the mid 1970s as a director, producer, commissioning editor, writer, lecturer and organiser. In 1981 he became the first Commissioning Editor for Independent Film & Video at Channel Four. During thirteen years at Channel Four he commissioned fiction, documentary and television series throughout the world. From 1995-1997 he was Head of the Northern Media School and is currently on the Board of the Sheffield International Documentary Festival, Chair of Hi8tus and on the Board of Team Pictures.
Mark Lonsdale – Producer:
www.leapfilms.co.uk
Mark Lonsdale is an experienced film and video producer. His track record includes broadcast work for Channel Four and the BBC, award winning short films and numerous successful music videos. Formerly the Co-Managing Director of Eyeline, he now combines running LEAP, a corporate video production company, with lecturing work in London.
Sam Montague – Director of Photography/ Lighting Cameraman:
www.sammontague.com
Sam Montague is a fully trained and established DOP and lighting cameraman, who has worked on a variety of film/video and TV productions for over a decade. His experience ranges from shooting on film (both 16mm and 35mm) to working with DV and High Definition cameras.
Enric Junoy – Editor:
www.enricjunoy.net
Enric Junoy gained his BA (Hons) degree in Film and Video at Central St. Martins School of Art & Design and has since worked as a freelance editor on artists’ videos, short dramas and documentaries. After working for Artsworld, he is now editing two feature length documentaries for BBC television.
Martin Pavey – Sound Designer/ Composer:
www.martinpaveymusic.com
Martin Pavey is an established sound designer and music composer with a proven track record of commissions and contracts for a large number of projects, ranging from independent films and videos to theatre productions and television. He has composed the music and created the sound design for Kubatta’s films and videos for the last seven years.
Spencer Norman – Graphic Designer:
www.bloody-brilliant.com
A graphic designer and Creative Director at munki, Spencer has designed title sequences and promotional materials for both shorts and feature films including The Tale of the Rat that Wrote (Billy O’Brien), which was nominated for a BAFTA, and The Warrior, directed by Asif Kapadia (winner of Best British Film and Best Newcomer at the 2003 Bafta’s). Spencer designed both the front and end titles as well as all promotional material for She Should Have Gone to the Moon.
SCREENINGS
International Film Festivals
London International Documentary Film Festival – London, UK
Ifema – Malmo, Sweden
Mid Ulster International Film Festival – Northern Ireland
Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival – Ankara, Turkey
Cambridge International Film Festival – Cambridge, UK
San Diego Women’s Film Festival – San Diego, USA
Leeds International Film Festival – Leeds, UK
Dallas Video Festival – Dallas, USA
Cinecity Brighton Film Festival – Brighton, UK
Serseliafam Women’s Film Festival – Vilnius, Lithuania
Female Eye Film Festival – Toronto, Canada
White Sands International Film Festival – Las Cruces, USA
Davis Feminist Film Festival – USA
BaltimoreWomen’s Film Festival – Baltimore,USA
Cinemas
Screen On The Green Cinema – London, UK
Imperial War Museum – London, UK
Star and Shadow Cinema – Newcastle,UK
Quad – Derby, UK
Lighthouse – Wolverhampton, UK
