THE HUNT FOR PLANET B

The Human Face Behind the Biggest Space-Science Story of the Decade

Receives World Premiere at 2021 SXSW Film Festival, March 16-20

February 23,2021 — The 2021 SXSW Film Festival has announced the World Premiere of THE HUNT FOR PLANET B, a stirring scientific adventure that follows a group of astronomers on their quest to find another Earth among the stars. Directed by Nathaniel Kahn (The Price of Everything, My Architect), the film will be shown in the Documentary Spotlight section of the festival, running digitally from March 16-20. Run time is 93 Min.

THE HUNT FOR PLANET B captures the human drama behind NASA‘s new high-stakes Webb Telescope, the largest and most complex space observatory ever built. The film interweaves the creation of this massive machine with the story of a pioneering group of female scientists who plan to use it in their search for life beyond our solar system. Now they are on the brink of answering a question that has haunted us for millennia: are we alone in the universe? This is a character-driven documentary in the style of Kahn’s Oscar-nominated My Architect and his Emmy nominated The Price of Everything.

3 - THE HUNT FOR PLANET B still — WEBB TELESCOPE — Photo Courtesy of Crazy Boat Pictures

This time it coincides with a major news story, with the much-anticipated Webb Telescope finally being launched into space in October. Webb promises to be the space-science event of the decade—and THE HUNT FOR PLANET B tells the gripping human story behind it.

In addition to the film’s screenings, the festival will also feature a special live panel with several of the scientists featured in the documentary.

PANEL – Friday, March 19 – 7pm CT / 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Cosmic Breakthrough: Women in The Hunt for Planet B
Are we alone? This dynamic panel of eminent scientists and engineers will discuss the search for life in the universe. With the discovery of thousands of exoplanets and the huge Webb Space Telescope launching this year, a new golden age of astronomy is dawning—and these women are at the heart of it. With Natalie Batalha, Amy Lo, Sara Seager, Jill Tarter, and Maggie Turnbull; moderated by Nathaniel Kahn.

THE HUNT FOR PLANET B is directed by Nathaniel Kahn and produced by Kahn and Bonnie Hlinomaz. Executive producers are Sandra Evers-Manly, Carleen Beste, Matt Mountain, Lawrence B. Benenson, Gerry Ohrstrom, and Alberto Conti. The film is edited by Sabine Krayenbühl with cinematography by Robert Richman and music by Paul Leonard-Morgan. www.thehuntforplanetb.com

Nathaniel Kahn‘s 2018 film The Price of Everything premiered at Sundance, was broadcast on HBO, and was nominated for an Emmy. Kahn’s My Architect won the Directors Guild of America Award for outstanding direction of a documentary and was nominated for an Academy Award, two Independent Spirit Awards and an Emmy. His short Two Hands was also nominated for an Academy Award and an Emmy.