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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, January 22-24, 2020 C-5 The Park Record ‘Spaceship Earth’ casts new light on an ambitious project PUZZLE ANSWERS FROM PAGE C-4 Get all the latest Park Record updates. Help keep Park City Green and Clean COURTESY OF SUNDANCE INSTITUTE The men and women of Biosphere 2 stand inside the structure they would be sealed within for two years as an experiment in sustainability. Biosphere 2 wasn’t taken seriously back in the day JEFF DEMPSEY The Park Record Documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf was in search of a new project when he stumbled upon a striking image. Eight people, wearing identical reddish-orange jumpsuits, standing within a glass pyramid. “I assumed it was a still from a science fiction movie,” he said. As he delved further, though, he found it was a real structure, a real experiment: Biosphere 2, an attempt in the late 1980s to recreate Earth’s biomes in a 5hermetically sealed, self-sustaining structure. Those eight people were ‘Biospherians,’ the men and women who would live inside for two years, collecting data and learning all they could about living in greater harmony with one’s ecosystem. “Once I realized that, and that it’s participants are still alive, I was determined to tell their sto- Continued from C-4 Phoenix rises out of loss “When I do understand what the song is about, I try not to explain the meaning of it to others,” she said. “The reason I don’t do that is because everyone hears the song through their own (filters), and they may use the music to deal with their own loss or remember an experience or relationship. I’m really interested in where the music leads them.” ry,” Wolf said. “I had no idea how epic and unexpected their journey had been.” Wolf will debut his film, “Spaceship Earth,” on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at the MARC Theatre during the Sundance Film Festival. The film uses archival footage and new interviews with the participants to not only cover the Biosphere 2 project itself but also the decades of work leading up to it. “I was struck by the ambition of these people to literally reimagine the world, particularly in the context of catastrophic climate change today,” he said. “But it’s also a human story of the possibilities and limitations of that ambition.” Wolf said he was compelled to reexamine Biosphere 2 in part because of its reception at the time. “The project was in many ways rebuked by the media. From my point of view, it was sort of flattened in its depiction,” he said. For that reason, Wolf said, he wanted to look at Biosphere 2 with the benefit of hindsight, both his as a researcher and that of the participants’ themselves. It took some effort, he said, to convince the Biospherians to speak with him. “I think because of the reception at the time, there was some concern among those who were a part of it whether we were going to tell a more nuanced, complex version of their story. So I had to really do my homework to convince them this was a worthwhile project,” he said. Wolf said he was excited to find that not only were they willing to talk, they had also carefully documented their own experiences, which provided him with a wealth of material to sift through. Wolf said he is eager to share “Spaceship Earth,” a story about an ambitious project as relevant today as it ever was. “This conversation is incredibly relevant to the political and ecological crises of the current moment,” he said. “But also, the idea that small groups can be engines of change is just really powerful.” During the recording process, Phoenix decided to ask two of her brother’s friends — R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe and filmmaker Gus Van Sant — if they would like to be part of the project. Both agreed. Stipe sings a duet with Phoenix on “Time Is a Killer,” and Van Sant directed the video for the song “Immolate.” The video also features another one of River’s friends, actress Catherine Keener, who is the exwife of actor Dermont Mulroney, who also called River a friend. “It was important to include as many of his friends on this project as a collective homage,” she said. While Phoenix didn’t create the material with those friends in mind, she knew it was strong enough for them if they wanted to be involved in some way. “To me, collaborations like this elevate my work,” she said. “They inspire and influence me even more to step up as an artist and bring in things that will resonate with them to the point that they would want to work with.” While Stipe and Van Sant won’t be at the ASCAP performance, Phoenix will use her time on stage to not only sing some of the songs from “River,” but to also tell stories about her brother. “My shows will be designed to invite my audience to think about those they have lost, or think about their fears about loss,” she said. “I would like to think that the short half-hour I’m on stage will be a short half-hour set of healing. And I’m grateful for ASCAP that I have an opportunity to be part of this.” “Spaceship Earth,” an entry in Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition, is set to screen at the following times and locations: • Sunday, Jan. 26, 5:30 p.m., The MARC Theatre • Tuesday, Jan. 28, 12:15 p.m., The Ray Theatre • Wednesday, Jan. 29, 3 p.m., Park Avenue Theatre • Thursday, Jan. 30, 9 p.m., Salt Lake City Library Theatre • Friday, Jan. 31, 6 p.m., Redstone Cinema 7 Look for Green Tips every Wednesday in The Park Record for ways to be ecofriendly in your daily life Blue Boar Inn & Restaurant WEDNESDAY NIGHT CHEF’S DINNER $29.95 for Three Courses Enchanting European Inn & Fine Dining Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Served Daily Sunday Brunch AAA FOUR DIAMOND AWARD, 2019 Inn & Restaurant BEST OF STATE 2019 Best Northern European Fine Dining Best Bed & Breakfast Best Plated Brunch 1235 Warm Springs Road, Midway, Utah 435.654.1400 • www.theblueboarinn.com 2020 / 2021 Open House & Interest Night Wednesday January 29th Toddler 4:00 – 5:30 pm Early Childhood 5:00 – 7:00 pm Lower Elementary 5:00 – 7:00 pm Our doors will be open to families and future Little Miners for the 2020/2021 School Year Enrollment, School Tours and Faculty Meet & Greet. We look forward to meeting your family! 435.940.1822 * www.littleminers.org * subie@littleminers.org 1091 E Beehive Drive Park City, Utah 84098 (located in Silver Creek Estates) Get the top local news stories delivered directly to your inbox with a new weekly email update from The Park Record! Sign up now at bit.ly/prrecordroundup |