Space is the Place

USA, 1974. Director John Coney. 85min.

Space is the Place is a rare, unmissable trash culture, science fiction classic. Starring the Afrofuturism jazz star Sun Ra, this loosely based biopic offers the uninitiated a tantalising glimpse into his fantastical world. Born in 1914 as Herman Poole Blount, he had a vision in his thirties that he had somehow originated from Saturn and promptly changed his name to Sun Ra. Dressed from then on in elaborate Egyptian-inspired papal robes, and arriving in a music powered space ship, he spent the next 50 years on a mission to enlighten the world with his unique experimental music, and save the black race from social injustice by starting an all-black colony in the sky, while recruiting a legion of fans along the way.

With Barbara Deloney, Sun Ra, Raymond Johnson and Marshall Allen.
Costumes by William S. Jones and Jill Percival.

Past screenings

Wearing Time: Past, Present, Future, Dream – London
Sunday 12 March 2017, 15:00 | Rio Cinema
With introduction by Roger K. Burton.

Wearing Time: Past, Present, Future, Dream – New York
Sunday 22 April 2018, 14:00 | Museum of the Moving Image