Independent Lens
Matter of Mind: My Parkinson's
Three individuals–a political cartoonist, a mother turned boxing coach, and an optician–navigate their lives with resourcefulness and determination in the face of Parkinson’s disease.
The Longest Goodbye
Dr. Holland’s job of keeping astronauts mentally stable in space is tested to the extreme in light of NASA’s pending Mars mission and the three-year absence it will require.
- Funding Initiative
- Series and Special Projects
DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER
Ido Mizrahy
Ido Mizrahy’s narrative and documentary films premiered at SXSW, Tribeca, and ND/NF, among many other festivals, and went on to win several awards. His films have been distributed by AMC, Sundance, Netflix, Amazon, and MTV. Mizrahy is co-directing a fictional VR experience, with Nir Sa’ar, that’s equal parts family drama and space thriller.
WRITER/PRODUCER
Nir Sa'ar
Science buff and veteran storyteller, Nir Sa'ar is drawn to the powerful intersection between novel technology and human drama. An award-winning filmmaker and creator of innovative immersive experiences, Sa’ar’s films and new-media work premiered in major film festivals such as Festival de Cannes, Venice, and Busan IFF.
PRODUCER
Valda Witt
Valda Witt is an independent producer and investor based in New York City. Her narrative and documentary features have premiered at Tribeca, Venice, Oldenburg, and Hot Docs. Valda serves as president of the Browning School. She began her career in management consulting at McKinsey & Co. and has an MBA from the Wharton School.
PRODUCER
Paul Cadieux
Paul Cadieux is one of Canada's most active producers. Among many other awards, he won a Genie Award for Best Film for Les Triplettes de Belleville. For over three decades in the industry, Paul has been centrally involved in major projects, including television programs, feature films, and international documentary co-productions.
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The Film
In the next decade, NASA intends to send astronauts to Mars for the first time. To succeed, crew members will have to overcome unprecedented life-threatening challenges. And while many of these hazards are physical, the most elusive are psychological. Throughout their three-year absence, crew members won’t be able to communicate with Earth in real time due to the immense distance. The psychological impact of this level of disconnectedness and isolation—both from mission control and loved ones—is impossible to predict, endangering the mission itself. Directed to mitigate this threat is Dr. Al Holland, a NASA psychologist whose job is to keep astronauts mentally stable in space. The Longest Goodbye follows Holland, rookie astronauts Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer, and former astronaut Cady Coleman, among others, as they grapple with the tension between their dream of reaching new frontiers and their basic human need to stay connected to home. This conflict transcends space travel: how do humans balance the quest for progress with a deep connection to history and each other?
