Humans have long held a fascination with the celestial heavens and the stars beyond. Reaching for Light follows a team of scientists and engineers who look to near space and attempt to achieve something that has never been done – in order to record a 360-degree panoramic video inside the aurora borealis (the northern lights).

At the heart of this mission are Dr. Chris Rose and Dr. Alex Baker, the founders of Sent into Space (SIS). The pair explain that it all began over a conversation in a pub when they, two geeks, were looking for ways to distract themselves from their PhDs. Since then, SIS has grown from a team of two to around 20, including Alex Keen, Launch Coordinator and Matt Lanning, Creative Lead, who co-direct Reaching for Light with cinematographer, Eva Yap.

Baker and Rose were inspired by the video of United States Air Force officer Joe Kittinger jumping out of a balloon from the edge of space on August 16, 1960. The pair wanted to try to recreate that with modern technology that segued into wanting to photograph or record “a very cool image with very basic technology”, that led to the idea of a 360 degree video inside the Aurora Borealis.

Reaching for Light has a nicely organised three act structure that is offset by the unpredictability of the solar flares and the uncertainty of coming close to any semblance of success. The SIS team know that others have been in the Arctic for a month only to come away with nothing.

The documentary carries itself like an adventure story, which takes SIS from their Sheffield base of operations in the UK, to Kiruna, Norrboten in Sweden and onto Suomi, Finland. This isn’t a Mission: Impossible-esque action adventure that pushes the suspension of disbelief to extreme, if not preposterous limits. Instead, it’s pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with science and technology. Here, the villain isn’t some megalomaniac, psychopath or broken human being, but environmental conditions, time and budget restrictions that effect the launch window and ability to test the technology, and the unpredictability of the aurora borealis itself. Reaching for Light is a David versus Goliath tale, where dreams and ambitions face a severe stress test.

Reaching for Light nurtures an emotional investment through the on-camera interviews with Baker, Rose, Keen and Lanning. In moments their inner child is set loose as they excitedly discuss different aspects of the process from prep through to recovering the cameras, the use of weather balloons, launch decisions and the choice of camera lenses. You might not understand every sentence, but their enthusiasm is intoxicating, and you’re pleased to be on this journey with them. And their combined responses to the setbacks and successes creates a mini-rollercoaster.

Lanning’s emotional trajectory after the recovery of the cameras from the Kiruna launch particularly stands out. But what is most striking is the humility after the Suomi launch. Lanning and Rose temper their excitement, and whether it was their or the wider teams intention, they show a respect for being a part of something bigger than themselves.

In one scene the team are assembled around the table discussing logistics of a quicker than expected launch. It’s possible to sense that the subjects are too conscious of the camera, which becomes an intrusive presence. While this is a one-time occurrence, it instigates a conscious awareness of the filmmaking craft in other scenes. This is a minor observation that doesn’t detract from what is otherwise an engaging and well-crafted documentary.

Themes snap, crackle and pop effortlessly by listening to and observing the ensemble. The reciprocative relationship between imagination and technology is one that resonates. In the final scenes, Rose talks about being inspired to think about “what we can do with our technology and where we should hope to push ourselves with technology we don’t yet have”. He says: “I don’t want to know the answer to what’s next yet, but I want to explore it with gusto”. His words assert that curiosity is an essential part of this film, which reminds us that Earth is a wonder, as are the multitude of perspectives it can be viewed from. Lanning says, “My hope is that the same thing that the astronauts felt on the ISS (International Space Station) with the overview effect, is that we get a little bit of that bleeding through to people watching the film”. He hopes it will be awe-inspiring and lead them to want to find out more.

More than ever, we need to reconnect with our planet, our life support system, whose wellbeing is experiencing the harmful effects of the human footprint. By inviting us to lose ourselves in the miraculous wonder of our planet, Reaching for Light is a much needed tonic to the deep-rooted despair and cataclysmic future towards which we could be hurtling.

Reaching for Light premieres at Raindance 2025, which takes place from June 18th to 27th.