The Blake
In 1995, an elementary school art teacher converted an old bus into a replica of the Challenger space shuttle and used it as a science laboratory to teach kids about space. This cinematic memoir explores the filmmaker’s childhood experience with the shuttle and how it helped her cope with a huge loss.
Interview with Writer/Director/Editor Courtney Sposato and Director Mark Sposato
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This film kind of exploded out of me. While watching Cosmos together this past April, I had a sudden rush of memories from my childhood of The Blake. The dilapidated bus was turned into a replica of The Challenger by my elementary school art teacher. He wanted to use it as a science laboratory so kids could have hands-on access to learning about space. Christa McAuliffe was a science teacher who perished in the Challenger explosion, and our school space shuttle was a tribute to her. We wanted to carry out her mission of inspiring and teaching kids about the wonders of space. This all happened in the mid-90s before the internet was in every home in America. We were one of the first schools to talk to astronauts live at the space station.
I started tracking down my teacher, and once I found him, the film just came together at lightning speed. Those I spoke with wanted to be a part of this, and help bring the story to life. Everyone was so proud of the work they did with The Blake. In this film, I explore The Blake's profound impact on me, and more importantly, how it helped me cope with my life's first devastating loss. This film is about the impact of dreamers like Christa McAuliffe and my brother Matthew, and how their hope is infectious and inspiring.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's an interesting look at a moment in time that you may not have heard about. A little town in the middle of nowhere, doing this pretty cool thing connecting kids with astronauts in space in the early 90s. It was really early on before this kind of thing was commonplace.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think anyone can relate to the film's themes. Firstly, about the wonder of childhood and how certain experiences you have as a child become memories that you take with you to adulthood, and influence you for the rest of your life. And also, the theme of perseverance in the face of loss. I hope people can connect to the message of hope in the film.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The form of documentary is so interesting because it truly evolves as you begin to gather more interviews and materials. It begins to sort of take shape on its own and become something you weren't entirely expecting. I started out making this a film specifically about The Blake vehicle, and then realized how I just couldn't disentangle my own feelings and experiences I had with it as a child, and it became a much more personal story than I initially expected to make.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We've received such lovely feedback on the film, people seem to really be able to connect their own childhood experiences to their experience watching it.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not really!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Just would love for more people to be able to see the film. I'm really looking forward to hearing what people think about it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We would love to find a home for this on HBO or Netflix, as we've started to see a trend of them broadcasting short films.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope this movie can make people feel connected and hopeful. I think we all know what it feels like to dream and to lose someone we love. It's an unfortunate universal experience, and I hope this can make people feel less alone.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What events or experiences in your own childhood had a lifelong impact? I would absolutely love to hear about other people's stories.
Would you like to add anything else?
No thanks :)
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are currently in the development of our first feature-length narrative film, and also a new feature-length documentary.
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 Blake
In 1995, an elementary school art teacher converted an old bus into a replica of the Challenger space shuttle and used it as a science laboratory to teach kids about space. This cinematic memoir explores the filmmaker’s childhood experience with the shuttle and how it helped her cope with a huge loss.
Length: 15:26
Director: The Sposatos
Producer: Courtney Sposato
Writer: Courtney Sposato
About the writer, director and producer:
We are THE SPOSATOS, an Emmy-nominated married filmmaking duo based in Harrington Park, NJ. We're parents to a daughter Lola, and a dog named Mouse.
COURTNEY SPOSATOS is a filmmaker and freelance editor at Showtime, and an Austin Film Festival Script Competition Finalist. Other highlights in her career have been cutting promotions for director Jonathan Demme, and overseeing all of the post-production for Beyoncé Knowles’ directorial debut, HBO’s Life Is But A Dream.
MARL SPOSATOS is a screenwriter, director, designer, and professor at the School of Visual Arts. A junkie for hard-hitting, deep-cutting speculative fiction, his goal is to bring audacious yet grounded Sci-Fi concepts to a diverse audience.
Looking for: journalists, sales agents and film festival directors
Instagram: @houndstoothstudios
Hashtags used: #TheBlake, #HoundstoothStudios #TheSposatos
Website: houndstoothstudios.com
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival/Missoula Montana - Feb 25th; , Durango Film Festival/Durango, CO - March 2nd, March 5th