To the Moon and Back – Films

Elisa Gomez Alvarez
Switzerland, Philippines, France, Qatar | 2026 | 85 min
World premiere
Languages : English, Cebuano, Darija
Subtitles : English, French

Despite their different aspirations, backgrounds, and origins, Ilyasse and Pauline, scientists in their early twenties, share one common dream: escaping to the moon to address Earth’s problems. Each of them dedicates all their resources and efforts to achieve this goal. But what if space was political, and what if dreaming was too?

This film is suitable for audiences 14 and older

At the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne, Pauline, from the Philippines, and Ilyasse, originally from Casablanca, are training to become astronauts during an intensive training that sits somewhere between a scout camp, a casting call and a survival course. They simulate missions on screens, learn to live and communicate in groups and even experience weightlessness. But they are barely twenty years old, and behind their dreams of space lie other realities: the burdens of origin, gender bias, colonial legacy and the pressures of a world in crisis. There’s talk of cleaning up space, flags are proudly pinned to suits, role models are sought. Space becomes a refuge, a mental sanctuary for self-reinvention. Through a sensory mise en scène, somewhere between classic cinema and science fiction, the filmmaker captures the vulnerability, enthusiasm and faith of these brilliant young souls. A vibrant film that views Gen Z not as heroes, but as sensitive beings searching, against all odds, for a new horizon.

Anne Delseth

To the Moon and Back, 2026
Volatiles, 2022
Soraya Luna, 2021