mishaps in spacetime

synopsis

A cosmonaut struggles within their own spacepod. Their inner voices will only make the discussion louder. Soon they all need to decide on facing the transformative pull of butterfly nebula.

extended synopsis / intro scene

In outer space. Darkness, gas and stars, which we see through the window of a spaceship. It's a single craft, and it's shaped like an egg. It crosses celestial landscapes at once beautiful and haunting. It approaches a butterfly shaped nebula, and heads into it.
Again in the space desert. The darkness which contains the stars becomes the bottom of a frying pan, the stars are now the reflections of the drops of frying oil, dispersed according to the laws of thermodynamics. An egg cracks against the pan’s rim, it falls in and starts cooking. The kitchen shares the same panel as the spaceships control interface; next to the stove is the directional joystick.
Again looking out the window, at the vastness of the universe. A sigh. Even though aware of our direction, we are not convinced it is right for us - to which extent aren’t we actually adrift.
Seen from outside, the ship takes its place within its surrounding. The distance increases, and she slowly becomes but a dot. The title appears on the screen: Mishaps in Spacetime.

cast

Caio Amado Soares (COSMO)
Joey Steffens (JESSE)

crew

Directors - Caio Amado Soares & Michel Wagenschütz
Writer & Producer - Caio Amado Soares
Director of Photography - Nadja Krüger
Camera Assistance, Lighting - Philipp Fröhlich
Art Direction - Caio Soares, Michel Wagenschütz, Helena Ribas
Costume Design - Michel Wagenschütz
Set Design - Helena Ribas
Sound Recording - Philipp Fröhlich, Deniz Şimşek
Editing - Caio Amado Soares, Michel Wagenschütz

artist's statement

Mishaps in Spacetime is a queer speculative short fiction film about the transformation of a cosmonaut and his spaceship through spacetime.
Inspired by Vilém Flusser's Vampyrotheutis Infernalis, Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, and Stanislaw Lem's Star Diaries, it combines the topics of gender trouble, self-discovery - and its boundaries, and the fear associated with change/death.