Cosmos (2019 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Cosmos

| image = File:Cosmos 2019 Poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Poster

| director = {{Plainlist|

Elliot Weaver
Zander Weaver

}}

| writer = {{Plainlist|

Elliot Weaver
Zander Weaver

}}

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Elliot Weaver
Zander Weaver

}}

| starring = {{startplainlist}}

Tom England
Joshua Ford
Arjun Singh Panam
Ben Vardy

| cinematography = {{Plainlist|

Elliot Weaver
Zander Weaver

}}

| editing = {{Plainlist|

Elliot Weaver
Zander Weaver

}}

| music = {{Plainlist|

Chris Davey
Chris Duncan
Mark Heath

}}

| studio = Elliander Pictures

| distributor = Gravitas Ventures

| released = {{Film date|2019|07|14|United Kingdom|2019|11|07|Los Angeles|df=y}}

| runtime = 128 minutes

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget = $7,000

}}

Cosmos is a 2019 science fiction film written, directed and produced by Elliot and Zander Weaver in their feature film debut. The film stars Tom England, Joshua Ford, Arjun Singh Panam and Ben Vardy. It was released in late 2019 in the United States.{{Cite web |date=2019-08-29 |title=Virtually every film coming out this fall |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-08-29/virtually-every-film-coming-out-this-fall |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

Plot

Three young astronomers are baffled once the newest team member discovers radio signals of a seemingly impossible origin on 1420.163, in the water hole. After an unexplained power surge deletes crucial recordings, the team members unite and discover that the radio signals resolve to a response to the Arecibo message, a message beamed into space via radio waves in 1974, broadcast by a spacecraft in low Earth orbit using a cloaking system that renders the craft invisible on the visual spectrum but visible in infrared. After the team race to a local radio telescope array to get a new battery when a low battery threatens to halt their investigation, it turns out that the team were the first to receive and identify the message. At the finale, SETI coordinates a global message to be beamed to the craft: "Welcome to Earth", at which point the craft decloaks.

Cast

Tom England
Joshua Ford
Arjun Singh Panam
Ben Vardy

Production

The film was made in Birmingham, England.{{Cite journal |date=2019-03-01 |title=Entering the Cosmos: how we made our movie |url=https://www.filmstories.co.uk/features/entering-the-cosmos-how-we-made-our-movie/ |journal=Film Stories Magazine |issue=3}} Pre-production started in 2013 followed by principal photography in 2015. The film took five years to make and was shot on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 1080p.{{Cite web |last=Ferrari |first=Alex |date=2021-02-18 |title=Cosmos: No-Budget, $600 Camera, 3 Lights & Still Sold Worldwide - IFH |url=https://indiefilmhustle.com/cosmos-elliot-and-zander-weaver/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=Indie Film Hustle® |language=en-US}} Other than the soundtrack, the Weavers handled the majority of post-production duties themselves.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2019-11-19 |title=COSMOS (2019) Preview of sci-fi mystery movie |url=https://moviesandmania.com/2019/11/19/cosmos-movie-film-reviews-sci-fi-mystery-2019-overview/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=MOVIES and MANIA |language=en-US}} It is their feature film debut.

Release

A trailer was released on 12 November 2018.{{Cite web |last=Paur |first=Joey |title=Trailer For a No Budget Amblin-Inspired Sci-Fi Film Called COSMOS |url=https://geektyrant.com/news/trailer-for-a-no-budget-ambin-inspired-sci-fi-film-called-cosmos |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=GeekTyrant |date=12 November 2018 |language=en-US}} The film had a theatrical and on demand release on 8 November 2019.{{Cite web |last=Danielle |first=Tori |date=2019-11-08 |title=New Clip for Sci-fi Fantasy 'COSMOS' |url=https://www.pophorror.com/new-clip-for-sci-fi-fantasy-cosmos/ |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=PopHorror |language=en-US}} It was distributed by Gravitas Ventures.{{Cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2019-10-09 |title=Film News Roundup: 'Lionel Richie at Glastonbury' Movie Scheduled for Nov. 19 |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/lionel-richie-at-glastonbury-movie-scheduled-for-nov-19-1203364220/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Witt |first=Malachi |title=Cosmos (2019) |url=https://gravitasventures.com/cosmos-2019/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=Gravitas Ventures |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Cosmos (2019) - Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cosmos-(UK) |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=The Numbers}}

The film has only been released as region 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray due to Gravitas Ventures not owning the world rights for the film.

Reception

A review at HorrorBuzz compared the film to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Arrival, calling it a "must see."{{Cite web |last=Reese |first=Adrienne |date=2019-11-25 |title=COSMOS is A Superb Mystery Science Indie Feature |url=https://www.horrorbuzz.com/movies/cosmos-is-a-superb-mystery-science-indie-feature/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=HorrorBuzz |language=en-us}} Philip Henry at Movie Burner Entertainment claimed the script had imperfections but that they did not deter from it being compelling.{{Cite web |last=Henry |first=Philip |date=2020-02-04 |title=Cosmos (2019) Movie Review |url=https://movieburnerentertainment.org/2020/02/04/cosmos-review/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=Movie Burner Entertainment |language=en}} Pedram Türkoğlu compared it to Contact, dealing with radio wave detection.{{Cite web |last=Türkoğlu |first=Pedram |date=2020-04-01 |title=Contact'a Kafa Tutan Sıfır Bütçeli Film: Cosmos |url=https://www.bilimkurgukulubu.com/sinema/film-incelemeleri/contacta-kafa-tutan-sifir-butceli-film-cosmos/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=Bilimkurgu Kulübü |language=tr}} Skyline Indie Film Festival recommended the film.{{Cite web |last=Patrick |first=Brian |date=2020-05-12 |title=Pulling Focus Episode 9: Elliot and Zander Weaver's COSMOS |url=https://skylineindiefilmfest.org/pulling-focus-episode-9-elliot-and-zander-weavers-cosmos/ |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=Skyline Indie Film Fest |language=en-US}}