“[SPACE IS THE PLACE] illuminates Sun Ra's work. For him, outer space wasn't just a gimmick or a convenient source of song titles. It was a zone where racism was inoperative, where blacks could make their own destinies.” – Jon Pareles, The New York Times
“An ambitious blend of Afrofuturist sci-fi, Bergman-esque symbolism, funky Blaxploitation, and, well… Sun Ra.”– Tyler Wilcox, Pitchfork
“Everything you have desired on this planet and never received will be yours in outer space.” Avant-jazz mystic Sun Ra brought his pioneering Afrofuturist vision to the screen with this film version of his concept album. It’s a wild, kaleidoscopic whirl of science fiction, sharp social commentary, goofy pseudo-blaxploitation stylistics, and thrilling concert performance, in which the pharaonic Ra and his Arkestra lead an intergalactic movement to resettle the Black race on their utopian space colony.
LO-FI SCI-FI | January 30–February 24, 2026
Big ideas with small budgets, practical effects over digital enhancement, and human-scale story are the hallmarks of LO-FI SCI-FI films. These eight titles engage our love of the science fiction genre, employing a bevy of imaginative approaches: high concepts in quotidian worlds, imaginative production design to approximate mind-bending alternate realities, and the scientific questions of their time in relatable themes of love and self-discovery.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu