National Geographic Documentary Films has announced that they will be developing The Space Race, a documentary feature “that will uncover the little-known stories of the first Black pilots, engineers and scientists to become astronauts,” according to Deadline.
- Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza are set to direct and produce The Space Race.
- Frank Marshall and Tony Rosenthal of The Kennedy/Marshall Company will be on as executive producers alongside Carolyn Bernstein of National Geographic Documentary Films and Leland Melvin.
- Kennedy/Marshall’s Alexandra Bowen and Aly Parker, Diamond Docs’ Mark Monroe and Keero Birla will produce with Monroe also writing.
- While no release date has been set as of yet, the feature will be available exclusively on National Geographic Channels and Disney+.
- Cortés’credits include executive producing Precious, which won two Academy Awards, as well as producing the Emmy-winning HBO documentary The Apollo, which explored African American cultural and political history through the story of Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater.
- Hurtado de Mendoza’s credits include The Redeem Team, Netflix’s documentary about the 2008 U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball team, as well as The People’s Fighters: Teofilo Stevenson and the Legend of Cuban Boxing.
What they’re saying:
- Statement from National Geographic: “The Space Race weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden among many others. Addressing the racial injustice within NASA across several decades, the film will follow these pioneers who fought to overcome not just the obstacles of their astronaut training but also the challenges that stemmed from the racial prejudice and discrimination present at the time. The Space Race will highlight how their perseverance challenged the definition of ‘the right stuff,’ even when their stories were omitted from the history books.”
- Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of documentary films for National Geographic: “It has been a pleasure to work with co-directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, along with our friends at Kennedy/Marshall, to tell the inspiring, courageous stories of pioneering Black astronauts. We feel honored to give these trailblazers center stage in the narrative around U.S. space exploration.”
- Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza: “The exploration of space has always been a place of hope and inspiration. From space, we look out into the Universe and learn about our place in it, but we also look back at Earth and learn about ourselves. A select group of astronauts are the only human beings who’ve ever seen all of humanity from this unique point of view — with its infinite possibilities and its debilitating flaws. We couldn’t have found a more supportive partner than National Geographic Documentary Films to tell the story of these brave pioneers in space exploration who opened the space program to people of color.”