Synopsis

Avant-jazz mystic Sun Ra brought his pioneering Afrofuturist vision to the screen with this film version of his concept album. It’s a wild, kaleidoscopic whirl of science fiction, sharp social commentary, goofy pseudo-blaxploitation stylistics, and thrilling concert performance, in which the pharaonic Ra and his Arkestra lead an intergalactic movement to resettle their utopian space colony.

This screening is in conjunction with the exhibition Whatever Happened to Dyno-Woman: The Alternative History of an Afrofuturist Icon

Trailer

Film Details

Director: John Coney
Studio: Janus Films
Running Time: 85 minutes
Country: USA
Release Year: 1974
Rated: Unrated

Reviews

“Space Is the Place has more than a few hokey moments, but it also illuminates Ra’s work. For him, outer space wasn’t just a gimmick or a convenient source of song titles. It was a zone where racism was inoperative.” – Jon Pareles, New York Times