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Advance Screening of 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK at Messiah Lifeways

  • By Heather Woolridge
8 Days: To the Moon and Back

Advance Screening of 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK at Messiah Lifeways

WITF is taking viewers on a unique adventure with the crew of Apollo 11 for their eight-day, three-hour, 18-minute and 35-second mission in 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK–a new film premiering on WITF TV Wednesday, July 17 at 9pm as part of the Summer of Space multiplatform experience commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. 8 DAYS seamlessly blends authentic rare mission audio featuring candid conversations between Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins with newly shot studio footage, NASA and news archives, and stunning CGI recreation of the historic journey and landing to bring this adventure back to life.

Join WITF and Messiah Lifeways for a FREE sneak preview of the film and participate in a community conversation about it on Tuesday, July 9 at 6pm at Hostetter Enrichment Center located on the campus of Messiah Lifeways in Mechanicsburg. The event is free and open to the public however, advance registration is preferred. Register Here!

 

 

ABOUT 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK

8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK chronicles the Apollo 11 mission timer, beginning with the countdown (Day 1) and ending with the final splashdown (Day 8). Using a vast library of data and the recently declassified audio recordings, the film tells the entire story as “never seen before” by recreating the scenes that were not filmed. Reenactments featuring Rufus Wright (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Commander Neil Armstrong, Jack Tarlton (The Imitation Game) as Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin and Patrick Kennedy (“Mrs. Wilson”) as Command Module Pilot Michael Collins use the crew’s original audio coupled with archival live television news footage and photographs, allowing viewers to feel as if the mission happened last week, not 50 years ago.

“With access to previously classified and little-heard, rare audio recordings and using amazing re-enactment and special effects, 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK captures the story of Apollo 11 as it really happened,” said Bill Margol, Senior Director of Programming and Development, PBS. “From these unique audio recordings, we hear, and now can see, the Apollo 11 crew’s real fears and excitement from within the spacecraft, offering an intimate look into the breathtaking and awe-inspiring journey of the most important and celebrated mission ever flown.”

“It’s been truly thrilling to use the most innovative production techniques of the 21st century to bring the Apollo 11 story to life like never before,” said Andrew Cohen, Executive Producer and Head of Science, BBC Studios. “For the first time, this film takes audiences inside the mission to experience the actual journey of those three astronauts in the most intimate and spectacular of fashions. This is the ultimate documentary of the moon shot; it’s as if we’ve gone back 50 years and made the film we’d always dreamt of.”

Viewers can watch 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK and other new space-themed limited series and specials on WITF and PBS.org. All Summer of Space programs will also be available for streaming on the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. WITF members will be able to view all episodes via WITF Passport.


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