Space Dogs? A sci-fi thriller about canines in space? Well, yes, sort of.
Space Dogs, that was the news from Icarus Films this past week … the documentary filmmaking team of Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter’s award-winning story about the early Soviet Union’s space program will be making its way to the domestic DVD marketplace on Dec. 1.
On October the fourth of 1957 the world was stunned when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. The world changed as the little space craft zipped around the earth for a couple of months and then burned up in the atmosphere in January of 1958. Mission accomplished: The Soviet Union was first into space.
Khrushchev wanted a follow-up; the next mission and it to be more spectacular than the first (if that wasn’t even possible). It was designed to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of Bolshevik Revolution, which meant a November of 1958 launch date.
Filmmakers Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter tell the story of Laika, a Moscow stray dog (one of many) that was “recruited” to be the first living mammal in space. Yes, that was the plan, Sputnik 2 would have live cargo. Kremser and Peter use current stray dogs on the streets of Moscow to help drive the narrative … they had archived footage to work with, diaries to help (from Soviet archival sources) and interviews with some of those involved. It is a fascinating story … now almost a footnote to the early days of space exploration.
Space Dogs, available from Icarus Films on Dec. 1, is presented in Russian with English subtitles.
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