08 July 2014

Afronauts by Frances Bodomo (Ghana)

Afronauts by Frances Bodomo (Ghana)

July 1969. It’s the night of the moon landing. And a ragtag group of Zambian exiles are trying to beat America to the moon.

Based on a true story
In 1964, immediately following Zambia's independence, grade school science teacher Edward Makuka Nkoloso set up the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Research, and Astronomical Research in an old farmhouse 7 miles outside of Lusaka. Without resources (the £7,000,000 grant he applied to from UNESCO never came through), he hoped to launch a spacegirl (17-year-old Matha) and two cats into space before America or Russia could. To prepare his astronauts, Nkoloso rolled them down hills in 44-gallon oil drums or cut the rope of a swing at its highest point to simulate weightlessness. We do not know what became of them, other than that Matha became pregnant and was taken away by her parents.


AFRONAUTS from Sloan Science & Film on Vimeo.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Relevant comments are welcome - Les discussions constructives sont les bienvenues