Space Is the Place

Space Is the Place grew out of a real 1971 lecture Sun Ra gave at UC Berkeley through the Afro-American Studies department, titled The Black Man in the Cosmos; it was filmed in Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and Richmond. The project was initially conceived as a half hour PBS Arkestra program before director John Coney turned it into a surreal science fiction narrative. The film was never officially released in theaters for years; a shortened 64 minute version, at Sun Ra's insistence, circulated semi-legally on VHS until a restored, expanded 82 minute version was released in 2003. Who it's for: anyone curious about a film that grew out of a real university lecture, circulated semi-legally on VHS for years, and stands as one of cinema's earliest examples of Afrofuturist philosophy. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a conventional narrative structure, since the film works through surreal, experimental storytelling.