Gravity + Shorts (Nose Hair & Distemper)

With an introduction by Dr. Alexander C. Stahn, Assistant Professor of Medical Science at Penn Medicine and member of the European Space Agency’s Isolation Steering Committee, about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the study of the effects of isolation. Followed by a live introduction from Houston by former NASA astronaut Dr. Karen Nyberg, the 50th woman in space, who was living aboard the International Space Station when Gravity was released.

Gravity
Dir. Alfonso Cuarón. U.S., U.K., 2013, 91 mins. With Sandra Bullock, George Clooney. Cuarón’s astonishing big-screen adventure, which earned the director an Academy Award, is a depiction of life in the midst of profound, terrifying aloneness. A survival story told from the perspective of an astronaut, played by a committed Sandra Bullock, after a technical malfunction leaves her stranded in space. An uncanny visual experience, Gravity moves and feels like no other film before or since. Rated: PG-13

Preceded by the short films:
Nose Hair
Dir. Louis Morton. U.S., 2016, 10 mins. Featuring the voices of Jayden Mason, Eastaugh, Ryan Lacey. This charming animated short follows a young boy with anosmia—loss of smell (a common symptom of COVID-19)—who learns to use the condition to his advantage. Nose Hair was produced with support from a grant awarded by USC in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Not Rated

Distemper
Dir. Elias Plagianos. U.S., 2019, 18 mins. With Abigail Hawk and Chiké Okonkwo. This short was inspired by the true story of LGBTQ icon Dr. Louise Pearce, a pathologist who, in 1918, helped find a cure for sleeping sickness and saved an estimated two million lives. Produced with support from an award by the North Fork TV Festival and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Not Rated