Uncovering the little-known story behind the race to put the first black man into space. THE SPACE RACE weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden, among many others. In THE SPACE RACE, directors Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight’s quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in THE SPACE RACE, turning science fiction into science fact and forever redefining what “the right stuff” looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate and a fresh history to explore.
Lisa Cortés is a Grammy-nominated and Emmy-winning producer and director. Cortés executive produced Lionsgate’s PRECIOUS (2009) which was nominated for six Academy Awards® and won two. In 2019, she produced the Emmy-winning HBO documentary, THE APOLLO, and in 2020, she directed ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY (Amazon Studios). LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING (CNN Films), which she directed and produced, had its world premiere as the opening night selection in the US documentary competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for 26 awards, including a Grammy nomination for Best Music Film. Also premiering at Sundance was Invisible Beauty (Magnolia Films), which Cortés produced. The Space Race (National Geographic Documentary Films) which Cortés directed and produced, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and began streaming on Hulu and Disney+ in early 2024. Cortés is founder and President of Cortés Filmworks, committed to telling complex, powerful stories from new perspectives, and elevating the talent often overlooked by the mainstream. Her film productions have received over 100 international awards and nominations.
