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Out There - A Search For Extraterrestrials

Logline:
Zoologist-turned-filmmaker Alexis Smith sets out on an extraterrestrial expedition, only to find that the most profound discoveries may lie within herself.

Synopsis:
Driven by a desire to understand her place in the universe, filmmaker Alexis Smith joins a mysterious New Zealand network dedicated to contacting extraterrestrial life. Immersed in their meditative practices under the stars, Alexis uncovers the stories of this unique group, their experiences with extraterrestrial contact, and the stigmas they face. When she encounters something that pushes her to the edge of belief, it's her own inner shadows that she must learn to accept.

Film description and media:
Alexis’s journey, far from ordinary, explores the fine line between scepticism and belief while embracing the unexpected. Set against the stunning backdrop of New Zealand, the film blends humour and emotion, offering a fresh take on alien believers. It delves into Alexis’s quest for meaning and the broader question of what might lie beyond our world. With a local Kiwi focus and a global theme, the film presents a universal story through the surprising lens of a unique group of New Zealanders connecting with the unknown—out there.

  • Alexis Smith
    Director
    TE ARA – The Path and Unbreakable
  • Harry Wynn
    Producer
    Shred, Three Ticks Chlöe
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 5, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 NZD
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    New Zealand
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Loading Docs
    Distributor
    Country: New Zealand
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Alexis Smith

Alexis is a multi-award-winning director from Scotland. Her Zoology degree sent her to faraway lands like the Amazon rainforest, Red Sea and Madagascar. In 2014, she joined the BBC and set off around Europe and the USA, making primetime documentaries for worldwide broadcast. Since moving to Aotearoa in 2018, she has directed documentaries for all the major platforms, including music series ‘The Collective’ (2021) and the adventure film ‘TE ARA – The Path’ (2023), both of which received critical acclaim and multiple awards locally and internationally. Having travelled most of Earth, she’s now setting her sights on other planets.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I was physically shaking when I first opened up to my colleague about my desire to make a film on extraterrestrials. I could feel my entire lifetime of hard work and the credibility I had built crumbling around me. The stigma is real. She said, ‘if you go ahead with this, there’s no going back.’

In the context of our modern society, with the doomsday clock ticking and a population looking down, doom-scrolling into oblivion - what choice do I have? My goal is to encourage the world to look up again, reigniting our childlike wonder for the universe. Given the controversial nature of this topic, I ‘ve had to carefully craft the tone. It balances a self-aware kooky charm that plays into the UFO stereotype, while creating a safe space where the contactees can take their power back after a lifetime of secrecy battling the stigma.

There is a lot riding on this film: I’ve spent years building trust with this community, our contributors are amongst the most experienced CE-5 practitioners from around the world, our crew was required to meditate every night for months on the lead up to the shoot was largely thanks to friends, family and the generosity of a crew who believed in the vision (some of New Zealand’s best). What you see is the culmination of a year of preparation and 4 nights spent in sub-zero temperatures trying to capture the world’s most elusive mystical creature while also filming a compelling, cinematic and vulnerable human story. Call us crazy for even trying, but we did it!

This short marks the beginning of a very important journey. I am committed to building on this to find the truth and share it with the world – if not for our crumbling society or for the contactees who courageously shared their stories, then for that little girl who looked up to the stars many years ago and dared to question everything.