A crew of astronauts look on in horror as the Earth below them is enveloped by a mysterious cloud. That’s the premise of a new science fiction thriller set to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Variety has debuted a teaser for the project, which has been directed by Magdalena Lauritsch (in her first feature) and co-written by Jessica Lind (Wunder) and Lauritsch.
In the trailer, we watch as the crew of the Rubikon (a massive space station orbiting Earth) goes about their lives in orbit in 2056, where they’ve been working on an algae project onboard the station that will sustain them permanently. They run into trouble when they see some alarming things happening on the planet below them—specifically, Earth is covered by a mysterious, toxic cloud layer. The crew—made up of two scientists, Dimitri (Mark Ivanir) and Gavin (George Blagden) and a soldier, Hannah (Julia Franz Richter)—is divided about what to do: head down to Earth and figure out what’s going on, or remain in orbit indefinitely.
That division looks like it will take a significant toll on the crew—the trailer shows off some fights between members, and from the looks of things, Hannah wants to return to Earth, while Dimitri and Gavin want to remain onboard.
The production company, The Playmaker Munich, highlighted the film’s social commentary in their description: “Do we owe people in need whom we don’t know? Can we still live a jaunty life in a social bubble, while knowing how much pain and misery there is outside? Are our lives, and those of whom we love, too valuable to sacrifice for a noble but unrealistic greater good?”
There’s no word on when the film will hit a broader release, but presumably, that will come after the Cannes. The festival is now underway, and will run through Saturday, July 17th.
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