It’s a premise that could easily be mistaken for sci-fi — on a family-run Rhode Island flower farm, a young man (Kyle Allen, “West Side Story”) announces one morning to his salt-of-the-earth parents (Kevin Bacon and Carrie Preston) that he’s been selected by a technologically-advanced, privately-funded expedition to Mars. It’s a one-way trip — the red planet is where these space explorers plan to die — and he wants to spend as much time with his family as he can before his departure. In “Space Oddity,” the directorial film debut by actress Kyra Sedgwick, what unfolds is a contemporary tale about a family here on Earth, and a flirtation sparked with a girl (Alexandra Shipp) who accepts this would-be Martian, despite his delusions. Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films, the charming romantic dramedy had its premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and is now playing in select theaters and on demand.
Sedgwick and Bacon, longtime residents of Sharon, Conn., were special guests at a screening of “Space Oddity” at The Moviehouse, in Millerton, N.Y., on Friday, March 31, the night of its release. They were joined for a Q&A by actor Griffin Dunne, who previously worked with Kevin Bacon on the Amazon series “I Love Dick,” set in Marfa, Texas, and based on the novel by Chris Kraus.
“I found the script utterly compelling and lovely, and loved that it involved people you could relate to,” Sedgwick told Dunne during the post-screening conversation. “Dysfunctional families, or families that are struggling to be functional, that’s my jam. I get so, so excited by that, because who doesn’t have a family like that? For me, this script had elements that were funny, sad, hopeful — and was also really about something.”
Bacon joked that his wife had wanted to shoot the film, which takes place in a small, countryside town, at their home in Sharon, but Sedgwick was dissuaded when she realized the time it would take to recreate the flower farm that acts as the main set piece in her own backyard. Ultimately Rhode Island’s filming tax incentives led her to discover Robin Hollow Farm in Saunderstown, R.I.
“Luckily this is a working, mom-and-pop flower farm that we used,” Bacon said, “and the owner Mike was very sweet to walk me through the paces of the job. Kyra was really adamant that I learned to really ride his tractor and cut flowers. When I look at the scenes now I think, oh that could have been better! And I’m not looking at my performance, I’m looking at my flower-tying technique.”
Kevin Bacon stars as the patriarch of a Rhode Island flower farming family in "Space Oddity," directed by his wife, Kyra Sedgwick. Photo Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
Kyra Sedgwick who discussed her film after a screening at The Moviehouse. Photo by Alexander Wilburn
Bacon and Swedgwick were joined for the Q&A by moderator Griffin Dunne. Photo by Alexander Wilburn
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
