What happens when a homeless astronaut tries to reach the moon? In the short film Shoot for the Moon, we find out, and the result is both funny and extremely touching.
The film, shot by Shut Up Infinity, shows Spaceman Sal, all suited up in astronaut gear with nothing more than a suitcase, doing everything he possibly can to reach Earth's nearest celestial neighbor. He starts by asking random people for directions and then follows that up by trying to throw a rope around the moon to climb up.
Shut Up Infinity describes the film as follows:
"A homeless astronaut sets out for the moon armed with nothing more than a travel case, some bottle rockets and a trolley-load of ambition."
When that doesn't work, Sal attempts launching himself into space with fireworks.
Yes, it's slightly absurd, but it's the message at the end of the film that makes the biggest statement:
"Spaceman Sal doesn't have to be grounded. If we chose to support the explorers, the innovators, the dreamers, we might find the stars are closer than we think."
The film takes its title from a quote by The Power of Positive Thinking author Norman Vincent Peale: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
Chris Wickett wrote and directed Shoot For The Moon for Shut Up Infinity. There is also a behind-the-scenes video that shows more about the making of the movie.
Other short films have also sought to inspire the general population to support space exploration. Last year, the European Space Agency released Ambition, a film starring Game of Thrones actor Aiden Gillen that imagined a future far from now where we learn that the agency's Rosetta mission was a huge success. Not only that, but the film hinted that Rosetta found evidence during its mission that comets once seeded life on Earth.
A digital artist and animator from Sweden, Erik Wernquist, recently gave us a short film called Wanderers which imagines the future of humanity as we expand throughout the solar system based on current scientific ideas and concepts.
[Photo Credit: Shut Up Infinity]
