As part of the Hebridean Dark Skies Festival, we are screening four acclaimed films about the power of human connections to reach across space and time, culminating in the first An Lanntair screening of Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt.
Tickets for all screenings will be on sale from Monday 4 November – including a season ticket that gets you into all of them for a reduced price.
Wednesday 12 February – Contact (1997)
In director Robert Zemeckis’s thoughtful adaptation of Carl Sagan’s novel, Jodie Foster plays Dr. Ellie Arroway, a scientist obsessively looking for evidence of extra-terrestrial life – a search for connection fuelled by grief over the childhood loss of her father, who had inspired her to take up astronomy.
Friday 14 February – Solaris (2002), Valentine’s Day screening
George Clooney plays Dr Chris Kelvin, a clinical psychologist who travels to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris to try and find out why the astronauts are refusing to come home. On arrival, Kelvin discovers that the crew are being haunted by mysterious ‘visitors’. Soon afterwards he is reunited with his dead wife Rheya, a haunting performance by Natascha McElhone. Director Steven Soderbergh’s version of Stanislaw Lem’s famous novel – screening as our Valentine’s Day film – foregrounds the love story while still cleverly exploring ideas around philosophy and religion. “Expertly and exquisitely executed, Solaris manages to extract that all too rare achievement from a sci-fi film: emotion.” TIME magazine.
Tuesday 18 February – Interstellar (2014)
In Christopher Nolan’s epic sci-fi adventure – always best experienced on the big screen – Matthew McConaughey is Joe Cooper, a NASA astronaut whose connection with his daughter Murphy might be the key to saving humanity. Director Chistopher Nolan’s film is visually stunning and hugely ambitious in its ideas and scope, but is fundamentally about love. “In 2001, Kubrick saw a future that was out of our hands. For Nolan, our reliance on one another is all we’ve got.” Rolling Stone.
Thurs 20 February – Ad Astra (2019)
Brad Pitt plays Major Roy McBride, the son of a famous astronaut, who is sent on a mission to Mars after it emerges that his father is responsible for a series of mysterious power surges that could threaten all human life. Directed by James Gray, Ad Astra has won widespread acclaim from critics for its exploration of obsession, love, and family ties. “Existential but also intimate, Ad Astra is a stunning, sensitive exploration of the space left by an absent parent — and the infinite void of actual space.” Empire.