Proxima

About

Anyone who has had to balance a demanding career with lovingly raising children knows how daunting the task can be. But imagine the psychological toll when said career is about to propel you out of the planet for a full year. This gut-wrenching dilemma lies at the heart of Alice Winocour's breathtakingly beautiful drama, Proxima.

Sarah is a French astronaut training at the European Space Agency, and the single mother of seven-year-old Stella. Already wracked by guilt that she cannot spend more time with her daughter, their relationship is thrown into chaos when Sarah is suddenly selected for a yearlong space mission called ‘Proxima'.

Shot with painstakingly realistic technical detail in real-life aeronautic training facilities across Europe, Russia, and Kazakhstan, Winocour's film mixes the thrills of a space docu-drama with the grounded flesh and blood (and heart) of a family drama. Featuring a superb international cast (besides Eva Green's astounding lead role, the film stars Matt Dillon, Lars Eidinger and Sandra Hüller), this Toronto International Film Festival prize-winner builds to a profound and stirring climax.

This screening is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and sponsored by TV5MONDE USA.

Director Bio

Alice Winocour is a French screenwriter and director. Her first feature film Agustine (12) and her second film Disorder (MFF 15) were both played at Cannes . She co-wrote the film Mustang (15) which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.