The Case Against Space

1973. NASA launches its first orbital space station, Skylab. Three “Major Toms” will remain onboard for 85 days – a first at the time. But the mission has a hidden agenda. Aside from data collection, Houston’s primary aim is to test human productivity in space. Overwhelmed with tasks and hooked up to sensors monitoring their sleep, the test crew eventually revolts, cutting all communication for 90 minutes – just long enough to orbit the Blue Planet. Graeme Arnfield obtained from the American space agency – which has always denied the incident – the 60,000 pages of transcripts from the conversations that took place both on the station and on the ground. Using this real material, the British filmmaker worked with three actors to reconstruct the day leading up to this unprecedented strike. Filmed in close-up, frontal shots using 1970s-style surveillance cameras, The Case Against Space deploys a claustrophobic, low-fi setup with striking visual impact. It brilliantly supports a lively drama that turns the heroic image of the astronaut into that of an everyday, overexploited worker. Sending the class struggle into orbit, Arnfield also delivers an ironic critique of contemporary astro-capitalism, which openly envisions the “Augmented Human”. 

Emmanuel Chicon

The Case Against Space, 2026
Home Invasion, 2023
Pervading Animal, 2021
The Phantom Menace, 2019
Pedigree, 2018
Shouting at the Ground, 2017
Asbestos, 2016
Colossal Cave, 2016
Sitting in Darkness, 2015