The Sounds of Earth.

“The Most Distant, Man Made Objects in Space”

“In the summer of 1977, NASA sent Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 on an epic journey into interstellar space. The spacecraft were only expected to last two years, and yet, they may one day be all that remains of humanity. Each of the Voyager probes carries a golden record, a compilation of images and sounds meant to represent our planet to any distant civilizations that should encounter them. “The launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet,” said Carl Sagan, the golden record’s co-creator. Sagan met and fell madly in love with his future wife Annie Druyan while working on the golden record. The project became their love letter to humankind and to each other. This film is likewise a love letter, to Sagan and Druyan, and to the transcendence and heartache of the space age. And also to love itself, which always requires risky voyaging of one kind or another.

Director’s Biography:

Penny Lane has been making award-winning documentaries and essay films since 2002. Her first feature documentary, Our Nixon, world premiered at Rotterdam, had its North American premiere at SXSW, and was selected as the Closing Night Film at New Directors/New Films. Her short films have screened at Rotterdam, AFI FEST, Hot Docs, Full Frame, Rooftop Films, MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight and many other venues. She was named ‘Most Badass!’ at the Iowa City Documentary Film Festival in 2009. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Colgate University and yes, Penny Lane is her real name.”–Penny Lane (Via Aeon Film).