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Editor's Note: Yes, this is about the Prescott Film Festival, but there are a couple of reasons we published it here on the Chino Valley eNews site as well. First, it looks like a great movie, and many people from Chino Valley might want to climb in the car and come out to see it. Since it's an independent film, it is likely the only opportunity you have to see it.

But, secondly, the founders of the Prescott Film & Festival series, want to encourage filmmakers to come to the quad-city area to make their films. That's why, with each showing, they bring someone in who is part of making one of the films, to speak to the audience and also to showcase our communities.

As Helen Stephenson, the Founder and Director of the Prescott Film Festival said, "Chino Valley would be a great place to film movies. Imagine a Western being filmed out there..."

So, take a look at this film below and see if you find it interesting. You just might want to come in to Prescott on Wednesday night!

What if you could sit down in a comfortable environment and have a “casual” conversation with someone who has walked on the moon? What questions would you ask? What was going on inside their heads as they actually placed a foot on lunar soil? What compelled them to even want to do such a dangerous thing? Did they have any childhood influences that would take them in this direction?

Well, all these questions and more are answered in the compelling, interesting and insightful film by Jeffrey Roth, “The Wonder of it All”. The documentary screens Wednesday September 9th at 6:30 pm as part of the Prescott Film Festival & Series at the Frontier Village Cinema 10.

This award winning film interviews seven of the 12 Apollo Mission astronauts who walked on the moon. This small fraction of the human race holds the distinction of being the only people to actually set foot on another planet. The documentary highlights personal interviews with the astronauts as they speak about what inspired them to become a part of the space program.

The film starts with a brief history of, not only the space program, but what was going on in the United States at the time preceding the “Race for Space.” “Duck and Cover” was the mantra recited by schoolchildren as they “avoided” nuclear fallout by hiding under their desks. Russia had launched Sputnik, America was afraid the Russians were spying on us as their satellite passed over the US. And then, of course there was Buck Rogers. All these things played into many of the backgrounds of these men as they took on this career path.

Most of the interviewed astronauts come across as men who just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Buzz Aldrin says never thought of himself as a “hero” just someone who started out as a test pilot and ended up being an astronaut. He goes into details of how the mission affected him on several levels.

Alan Bean, the artist/astronaut who uses bits of moon dust from his souvenir badges in his paintings discusses his memories of the moon and how they are translated into his art. He does not view himself as a hero either, saying, “I just happened to be in the pipeline.”

John Young (who was also in the Gemini program and commanded the first flight of the Space Shuttle and the 9th Shuttle Mission) speaks about learning from the past as NASA looks to the future; Charles Duke addresses the spiritual experience of being in space. He also states that he was surprised that the US didn’t create a permanent lunar settlement in the 1970’s. He says, “I thought we’d go to the Moon, put up a base, and stay there. We should’ve done that. If we had, the world would be infinitely better off than we are today.”

Eugene Cernan, (who traveled to the moon twice and was the last man to leave footprints in the lunar soil) speaks with tears in his eyes about those final moments on the surface of the moon, saying, “I wanted to stop time and savor the moment….” Edgar Mitchell and Harrison Schmitt are also interviewed.

The music is wonderful throughout the film, and the use of old photos from the astronauts’ childhoods, their days at NASA and the present day interviews are skillfully woven together by filmmaker Jeffrey Roth. This is a prize piece of beautifully done oral history, and we are fortunate Roth thought to ask these different questions, and explore what went on behind the scenes and inside the minds of the Apollo astronauts.

The theatre and the Prescott Film Festival are sponsoring a canned food drive at this screening. Bring in at least three cans of food for the Yavapai Food Bank and you will receive $1.50 off the cost of admission. Regular admission is $6.50, cash or check only please.

As a special treat, The Prescott Astronomy Club has volunteered to come to the screening and set up their amazing telescopes at the theatre. They will let people take a glimpse at the moon after the screening, and also answer any questions folks may have about astronomy.

Gone Fishing

On other matters, the short film for September 9th was “short-listed” for the 2009 Oscars. Gone Fishing was written and directed by British filmmaker Chris Jones. This charming short is the festival’s first foreign film and has won awards in 31 festivals across the world. The film's website synopsizes the film, saying, “Gone Fishing is the touching story of a boy and old man coming to terms with bereavement through their shared love of fishing, and the legend of Goliath, the biggest pike ever caught! Thirteen minutes of magic that will touch and move you.”

For a review of the film, see: Gone Fishing

The director of the film also wrote the popular book series, Guerilla Film Makers Handbook.

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