HYBRID IN-PERSON AND ONLINE PROGRAM

Proxima (Alice Winocour, 2019, 107 min.)

Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Chair, Film & Moving Image Department, Stevenson University

It can be hard enough to be a woman today without the added burden of maternal expectations. Then again, they aren't burdens if one loves one's child, merely additional obstacles that most men don't have to navigate, even those with children of their own. Such is the fraught terrain that director Alice Winocour explores in Proxima, which stars Eva Green as Sarah, an astronaut about to leave for a year on the International Space Station. Battling external sexism and internal guilt, she does her best to fulfill a lifelong dream while leaving her young daughter, Stella, behind. The film also offers a refreshing look at a multilingual, multicultural effort, people from many different countries coming together to get things done. Sarah is French, her ex is German, and Stella speaks the languages of both parents, as well as English. On top of this inspiring look at international cooperation, Winocour shoots in the actual locations managed by the European Space Agency and Russian Federal Space Agency, lending her movie impressive verisimilitude.

$10 fee for guests (No charge for ASG members, ASG subscribers, and RI members)