“The film is more than a history lesson and a walk down memory lane; it’s a creative and powerful reminder that we are Earthlings on a fragile planet orbiting in a vast and amazing universe. Cosmic Birth serves as a love letter to both the moon and the Earth. “
– Chelsea Gohd (Space.com)
“The documentary is a charmingly eccentric work. Animation is interwoven with poetry and an original soundtrack; in one scene memorably depicted by a fully suited astronaut playing the squeezebox. Ultimately, however, it’s the film’s ecological message that shines through.”
– Felix Robertson (Reykjavík Grapevine)
“I like documentaries with a sense of personality – not just the same old dry retelling of moon voyages. This is some of the best warm-hearted humanising of the space program I have seen. With beautiful camera work both on Earth and in space, we hear from space explorers who reflect on their experiences. There is a poetry and profundity to their reminiscences that shows that sometimes the artists and the explorers are one and the same. With insights into gender and ethnic diversity in current exploration, this documentary is a love letter to future intrepid travellers, and a reminder that curiosity is vital to the human spirit.”
– Francis French (Author; “Into That Silent Sea” and “Falling to Earth“)
“Once-in-a-lifetime night. Örlygur Hnefill Örlygsson came to NYC to screen his new film, Cosmic Birth, at the Explorers Club. He grew up near where the Apollo astronauts did their geology training in Iceland, and the film is, really, a love letter to them. Interviews with Rusty Schweickart, Charlie Duke, Harrison Schmitt; beautiful landscapes, so much more. I’m still flying.”
– Susan Roy (Author; “Bomboozled“)
“In a very real sense, it was as if the astronauts and millions who would see the photographs were seeing the earth for the first time. In the documentary, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart describes that moment as a form of “cosmic birth,” the moment of separation when we can see our mother Earth for who she truly is.”
– Rick Spilman (The Old Salt Blog)