1:00pm
Sat, Oct 08
Guam Museum Indoor Theatre
General Admission
$5.00 USD
at the door
(cash only)
Zero Gravity
GRAND JURY AWARD NOMINEE – BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
US | 75 min. | Guam Premiere | English w/ Spanish dialogue subtitles
Documentary, Cultural, Environmental, Family, Teen, Youth | GIFF Guide: General Audiences – material suitable for all ages
Synopsis
While it’s true today’s 11-year-olds will one day run the world, middle-schoolers in San Jose, CA are taking their summer break to get a head start. Immersed in their own space race, a diverse group of ambitious students enter the Zero Robotics ISS (International Space Station) Competition.
Their mission: compete with teams across the country to write the most strategic code for surveying satellites, known as SPHERES. These satellites will help map out a GPS system to successfully orbit Mars in the future, opening the door to infinite opportunities and exploration on the Red Planet.
Coached by first-time instructor, Tanner Marcoida, three of his engaging young students, Adrien Engelder, Advik Gonugunta, and Carol Gonzalez, lead the charge. Each coder-in-the-making brings their own strengths, unique perspectives, and boundless curiosity to their team, together embarking on an out-of-this-world STEM quest that celebrates space, teamwork, and the triumph of the human spirit.
Featuring astronauts Steve Smith, Cady Coleman, and ISS resident Jack Fischer — who performs the students’ incredible achievements in orbit 250 miles above the Earth‘s surface — Thomas Verrette’s inspiring documentary highlights the importance of empowering the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators who will fearlessly lead us into the future — and even the unknown…
Screenings and Awards
DOC NYC, Cleveland International Film Festival, Cinequest, Boston Film Festival, Heartland International Film Festival, SCAD Savannah, Earth X, DCEFF; Winner – Critics Choice – Iowa Independent Film Festival; WINNER – Audience Choice Award – Friday Harbor Film Festival; WINNER – Best of Fest – Vegas Movie Awards; WINNER – Award of Excellence – Indiefest Awards; WINNER – Best Feature Documentary – Desertscape International Film Festival
Thomas Verrette (Director, Writer)
Thomas Verrette is an award-winning director, producer, and editor. A 14-year veteran of the film industry, Verrette is a former Fox and Disney creative and post-production executive, and is most known for producing the 20-episode World Cup docuseries, Phenoms, for Fox Sports. Verrette also edited the Goalkeepers episode, which premiered the series at the Tribeca Film Festival. He also executive produced the documentary feature Ordinary Gods, co-produced the short-comedy series Small Shots, and edited the sci-fi feature Parallels.
Verrette began his career upon graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design, when his senior thesis film, Implanted, premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival, and secured limited-theatrical, international, DVD, and streaming distribution in 2012. Zero Gravity is his first feature documentary as a director, and he is currently developing a sequel Zero Gravity series centered around the global high-school ISS competition. Additionally, he is also scripting his next narrative feature, a sci-fi thriller titled Dark Matter, and hopes to go into production at the end of 2022.
Website: http://www.zerogravitydoc.com/
Tanner Marcoida
Carol Gonzalez
Adrien Engelder
Advik Gonugunta
Featuring Astronauts: Cady Coleman, Steve Smith, and Jack Fischer
Executive Producer David Worthen Brooks
Co-Executive Producers: Danielle Wood, Katie Magrane, Alvar Saenz-Otero
Music: Penka Kouneva
Editor: Thomas Verrette
Sound: Jonathan Coomes and Will Mitchell
Funding has been provided to Guam International Film Festival, Inc. from Humanities Guåhan and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the federal ARP Act of 2021.