The Longest Goodbye
Social isolation affects millions of people, even Mars-bound astronauts. A savvy NASA psychologist is tasked with protecting these daring explorers.
Interview with Director Ido Mizrahy
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I've always loved films that transform a space exploration story into a sneaky metaphor about our terrestrial questions. 2001, Solaris, Moon, Gravity, Arrival, and Alien come to mind. They use this enticing piece of story bribe (what's more exciting than outer space...?) to help us ask questions about our everyday existence. Questions that when faced head-on, undisguised, can be too painful to stomach. And so when we stumbled on this small team of NASA psychologists who are trying to keep astronauts mentally stable in space, my mind was blown. And the idea that these efforts to help astronauts stay connected to their roots, while floating away to Mars, could be applied to Earthbound populations who experience isolation was incredibly inspirational. The tension so many of us live with daily - between the desire to go as far as we can (to cultivate a better life for ourselves), and the need to stay connected to home - is as terrestrial as it gets.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you ever felt isolated or torn between the need to forge a new life away from home, and the pull of loved ones and roots - this story is for you. And of course... If you’re a space lover! But you’re in for a very unusual space movie and about to meet astronauts in a very different, intimate way. The openness we found while talking to the astronauts featured in our story: Cady Coleman, Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer, was incredible. These are the stars of the space program, folks we idolize and also assumed would be fairly closed off. Instead, we found the absolute opposite. Sometimes it felt like they were pushing us to be even more direct and get more personal. It's as if they've been waiting to be asked some of these intimate questions about leaving family behind, parenting from space, fears of being monitored and other very private confessions - or didn't realize how much they wanted to talk about these things. And finally - these folks actually filmed stuff for us in space! That’s not something you’d want to miss….
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Space exploration continues to fascinate us and offer a sense of escape and wonder. It's a powerful thing that unites all of us. But on a more earthly plain - this story opens a window into a threat we've been facing in the past three years, and many of us long before: having to isolate from the closest people to us, confined to our homes or temporary ones, and for the first time for many of us - having to ask ourselves what our social contacts mean to us. How much of our mental well-being is supported by contact with our loved ones. The answer can be surprising at times... and for me, I'll admit that while I missed the physical contact with loved ones pretty terribly at the beginning of the pandemic, when it was finally time to get back to seeing people in person, I dreaded it. And it wasn't even the fear of catching anything... It was this strange new feeling of not wanting to be around people. Of needing to get back to my.... isolation. There was a sense of comfort in that loneliness, that was suddenly gone. I think our complex relationship with the idea of being isolated is really worth exploring.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We had no idea we were about to make a human drama disguised as a space exploration story. When we started researching this story we knew we wanted to do something about the mission to Mars. A few trips into the research phase we were introduced to a man at Johnson Space Center whose job is to keep astronauts mentally stable in space. That changed everything... that's when we realized... we were not going to make a doc about the mission to Mars... not in any traditional way.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The Longest Goodbye will meet audiences for the first time at Sundance… so stay tuned and I’ll report back!
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
TBD!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
A couple of things come to mind - first of all, I’d love for people to watch the documentary and feel inspired to pursue their dreams, trusting that their roots, history and loved ones are with them wherever they go. But as importantly, I would really like to help dismantle the stigma associated with mental support. To see astronauts receiving ongoing psychological support while in space, and opening up about the need for it, is a monumental boost to dispelling the notion that psychological support is something to hide. Remotely, or otherwise. It's something we all could benefit from and the more we see these superhumans opening up about the role it plays in their lives and work, the more normalized this becomes.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We’d love for a theatrical distributor to come on board. We think this is a movie people will love to see on the big screen and can appeal to a wide audience. So many of us love space exploration stories, and even more of us know the sting of isolation first-hand. This story might feel very close to home to viewers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We’d love to see this movie released as widely as possible and we think it has that potential. By reaching a lot of people, it might start a conversation about isolation and the importance of social connectedness that is critical. This movie is about why our social bonds keep us sane and make us human and about why they keep us alive.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Must we choose between our dreams and our roots?
Would you like to add anything else?
Getting the chance to team up with my close friend Nir Sa'ar who wrote and produced this film with me has been an unexpected treat. It’s been a really fun process thanks to that fruitful collaboration. And having my long-time producer Valda Witt (EP on this project) by our side, shepherding this complicated project was a wonderful thing. The two of them are all the social support any director would ever need!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
While making this doc, Nir Sa’ar and I started working on an animated, interactive VR experience about an astronaut who gets the call from NASA to join the first manned mission to Mars. Now she has to decide whether to leave her family to pursue this dream. In the experience (Winterover), the user “plays” the astronaut’s spouse and has to help her make this decision. The trajectory of the story can morph in different ways based on the user’s actions and reactions.
Interview: January 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
The Longest Goodbye
Social isolation affects millions of people, even Mars-bound astronauts. A savvy NASA psychologist is tasked with protecting these daring explorers.
Director: Ido Mizrahy
Producer: Ido Mizrahy, Nir Sa'ar, Paul Cadieux
Writer: Ido Mizrahy and Nir Sa'ar
About the writer, director and producer:
Website: www.thelongestgoodbyefilm.com