EXCLUSIVE: An ambitious short film is garnering praise in Hollywood.
Ron Howard, Roland Emmerich and 300 producer Gianni Nunnari are among admirers of high-end short Edge Of Space, which is set in 1961 during the height of the US-Soviet space race and depicts the journey of a determined USAF test pilot, who is recruited by NASA for a daring suborbital mission in a X-15 hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. You can watch the first trailer above.
Written and directed by Zurich Film Festival executive and former Roland Emmerich employee Jean de Meuron, the film is inspired by historical events and stars Chad Michael Collins (Sniper film series), Kimberly Alexander, Jackson Robert Scott (It) and Kevin LaRosa II (Top Gun: Maverick aerial coordinator), among others. The debt to Top Gun and “master of disaster” Emmerich is apparent.
Edge Of Space was three years in the making and was financed by de Meuron and in large part by an old friend who wanted to help his buddy realise his passion project. It is his second short as a director and has unusually high production values and a deep bench of Hollywood vets among the crew.
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Producer Kim Magnusson, a two-time Best Live Action Short Film Oscar winner, joined Edge of Space as an executive producer and will be gunning for a third win in the category with the film. The experienced crew includes Emmy award winner Nicolas Emiliani and Elena Bawiec (Breaking) as producers; Michel Rangel (Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths) and Mario Cader-Frech also as executive producers; editor Chris Witt (Breaking); Emmy winner Mark Baechle (Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse) as composer; Emmy nominee Peter Bawiec, M.P.S.E. (Midway) for sound; gaffer Orlando Hernandez (Sicario: Day Of The Soldado); and Company 3’s Bryan Smaller as colorist (John Wick: Chapter 4), among others.
Visual effects were done by VFX Los Angeles (Izzy Traub, Charles H. Joslain and Joseph Sperber), which worked on the VFX for Oscar nominated The Creator. Rich Mento, former Co-President and Board Member of the Casting Society of America (CSA), served as casting director.
De Meuron has been as tenacious as his subject, working on shorts in various capacities for 15 years, while accumulating skills and contacts at various Hollywood companies, including Emmerich’s Centropolis Entertainment and Scott Rudin Productions. He interned at Paramount Pictures, The Weinstein Company, Universal Pictures and MGM and graduated from The New School in New York.
Independence Day filmmaker Roland Emmerich, who was De Meuron’s boss for years, recently hosted a screening of the short at CAA. He stated: “I’ve known Jean for a long time, and it’s been incredible to watch him grow as a storyteller. When I saw Edge of Space, I was blown away. The stunning production value, acting, cinematography, score, sound design, and excellent visual effects—everything comes together beautifully. It’s rare to experience a short film that feels this epic, with such massive scale and cinematic scope. It’s an impressive piece of work with great filmmaking.”
The film has played at the LA Shorts International Film Festival (Jury Special Mention), Indy Shorts International Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival (award nominee), New York Shorts International Film Festival and the New York Indie Shorts Awards.