Graeme Arnfield’s second feature, The Case Against Space, depicts what appears to be the first organised labour strike beyond Earth. The film reconstructs the 1973 NASA mission to the Skylab space station, during which the three astronauts on board temporarily ceased work and cut communications with Mission Control in protest against their working conditions.

Drawing directly from NASA transcripts, the film combines extensive research with speculative interpretation to reimagine the circumstances leading up to the strike. Filmed in black and white using a 1970s CCTV surveillance camera, Arnfield collaborated with three actors to restage Skylab in a studio, charting the mounting tensions between the crew and ground control as an overwhelming workload and constant micromanagement take an increasing toll on the astronauts. The Case Against Space extends Arnfield’s previous found-footage investigations into the politics of technology, revisiting a rare act of collective dissent in the history of space exploration.

The programme will also feature Jordan Belson’s 1961 short film Allures, presented on 16mm and selected by Graeme Arnfield to screen alongside The Case Against Space.

This free screening is presented in collaboration with UCL East Community Cinema.

Screening followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Graeme Arnfield.

Programme:

Allures
Jordan Belson I 1961 I USA I 7 min I 16mm

The Case Against Space
Graeme Arnfield I 2026 I United Kingdom, France I 72 min I Digital

Graeme Arnfield (b. 1991, UK) is an artist filmmaker and composer living in London, raised in Cheshire, UK. Producing sensory essay films from networked imagery his films use methods of investigative storytelling to explore issues of circulation, spectatorship and history. Research topics have included: the politics of digital networks, the distribution of ecological matter such as peat and asbestos and the adaptive circulation of global and local histories. His work has been presented worldwide including Berlinale Forum Expanded, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Visions du Réel, Open City Documentary Festival, IDFA, DMZ Docs, FIDMarseille, Courtisane Festival, Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, European Media Arts Festival, Transmediale, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Whitechapel Gallery and on e-flux & Vdrome. He graduated with a Masters in Experimental Cinema at Kingston University and his work is distributed by LUX, Arsenal and Square Eyes.