“If I die on Mars, it would be great”.

For a tale of astronomical distance, in an almost science fiction reality, If I Die on Mars has an altogether more human, warming and touching narrative.

Looking at just four of the 33,000 still in the race to partake in the brave and/or suicidal mission to be the first humans to land on Mars, Perkins never ridicules his subjects.

There are questions on sex, love, religion and death with Perkins’ elucidating and exploring impressively the big questions that could inspire some of its inhabitants to leave everything and everyone behind.

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INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Ed Perkins

SYNOPSIS: Three volunteers are on the shortlist to be among four people on the Mars One programme, the first manned space flight to Mars – a one way trip that’s effectively a suicide mission. A physics student in the UK, a young doctor from Mozambique and an Iraqi-American woman, all happy to sacrifice their futures for a place in history. Why do they want to leave Earth, and who are they leaving behind? As the list of potential Mars explorers is whittled down further on 16 February, meet those competing to be the first to land on the Red Planet.