NEW YORK – The Icelandic documentary Cosmic Birth had its US premiere this week at The Explorers Club in New York City. The screening on November 15 was followed by a Q&A moderated by private astronaut Richard Garriott, drawing explorers, scientists, and space enthusiasts to an Iceland themed evening at the Explorers Club headquarters on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Directed by Orly Orlyson of The Exploration Museum and musician Rafnar Orri, Cosmic Birth tells the story of mankind’s journey to the Moon and how the Apollo program forever changed our view of Earth. The film also highlights Iceland’s role in astronaut training in the 1960s, when Apollo crews prepared for lunar geology in the lava fields of the north.
The premiere comes on the heels of the film’s Icelandic launch on July 20, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. That summer, Cosmic Birth was released simultaneously in Icelandic cinemas and on national broadcaster RÚV, with admission free of charge in honor of what the filmmakers call “humanity’s greatest achievement – going to another world.” From October onward, the film has begun its international festival and cinema run in Europe and North America.
Early reviews have praised the film’s poetic style and powerful message. Space.com’s Chelsea Gohd called it “a creative and powerful reminder that we are Earthlings on a fragile planet orbiting in a vast and amazing universe.” The Reykjavík Grapevine hailed it as “a charmingly eccentric work” where animation, poetry, and music intertwine. Author Francis French lauded it as “the best warm-hearted humanising of the space program I have seen,” while Susan Roy described the New York premiere as “a once-in-a-lifetime night.”
Featuring interviews with five Apollo astronauts – Walter Cunningham, Bill Anders, Rusty Schweickart, Charlie Duke, and Harrison Schmitt – along with family members, artists, and Icelandic voices, Cosmic Birth blends archival treasures with original film. As astronaut Rusty Schweickart reflects in the documentary, the Apollo missions gave humanity a new view of our home planet, “a cosmic birth” that continues to inspire explorers today.
