Cosmonauts float over a confined planet while the inhabitants of Earth share their anxieties online. The so-called “COVID films” come and go, but Dominic Gagnon’s is clearly in a class of its own! Following Of the North (2015) and Going South (2018), this is a new playful and hypnotic journey into pandemic solitude. Space Down is entirely composed of found images and sounds—saved footage edited in a style that is at times frenetic, at times contemplative—drawn from obscure videos that risk disappearing forever if their hosts delete them. This signature technique accumulates effects of surprise, voyeurism, irritation, and fascination, allowing us to observe humanity through a unique lens. Dominic Gagnon engages with the imagination of science fiction while questioning humanity’s place in the universe. His economy of means, combining DIY aesthetics with a philosophical approach, gives rise to a dark and unsettling work: a sensory experience that unfolds as a series of flashes and bursts reflecting extreme solitude and the human thirst for connection.

Zoé Protat
Co-Executive Director and Artistic Director
Festival du nouveau cinéma