The Aeronauts

The Aeronauts

Sloan Foundation Film

Release Date

2019

Director

  • Tom Harper

Cast

  • Felicity Jones
  • Eddie Redmayne
  • Himesh Patel

Awards

  • 2019 SFFILM Science in Cinema Prize

Balloon pilot Amelia Wren and meteorologist James Glaisher find themselves in a fight for survival while pursuing scientific discoveries in a gas balloon in the 1860s.

In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.

Banner image courtesy of Amazon Studios/Photofest

Possible Topics

  • Extreme environments and the limits of human survival
  • The science and technology of weather forecasting
  • Human flight and its origins

Past Programs

2021

The role of balloons in measuring the atmosphere

Willcox Theater and Arts, Willcox, AZ