Voyage to the End of the Universe
Science fiction pushes the boundaries, explores the improbable, and envisions the future of humanity. It also exposes us to extravagant visual effects and the inventive power of cinema, reflecting our deepest fantasies. In cinema, science fiction is immersive, creating worlds suddenly within our reach. This summer, over one hundred films from the history of cinema will allow us to witness this!
A visionary work of Eastern Bloc science fiction, this mesmerizing Czechoslovak adaptation of a novel by Stanisław Lem melds Cold War ideology and utopian futurism into a tour de force of space-age modernism. In the year 2163, a band of astronauts embarks on a fifteen-year voyage deep into outer space, in hopes of discovering life in another galaxy. It’s a perilous journey during which they will confront the wreckage of the twentieth century, the chilling vastness of the cosmos, and their own mortality. A triumph of avant-garde production design that served as a model for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ikarie XB-1 — long known internationally only through a mangled and dubbed reedit — is a singular sci-fi landmark that finds both terror and wonder in the unknown.
Jindřich Polák
Jindřich Polák is a Czech film and television director and screenwriter born Prague. He is best known for his science fiction productions, but worked in many different genres. With Ota Hofman, he co-wrote the children’s TV series, Mr. Tau (Pan Tau).
