A frolicking sci-fi adventure, a decade in the making.
A pioneer family face strange visitors on a remote planet —
a film of romance, robots, and the will to survive.

See it now! — The full-length Space Prairie: Act I debuted in East Peoria, IL on April 28th, 2023 and is now viewable anywhere in the world through YouTube. You can enjoy the film by streaming it here and in the virtual event, Three Films by Filmmakers of the Heartland.


Three Films by Filmmakers of the Heartland

Three distinctly Midwestern films stream on this page, virtually representing the event held on April 28th, 2023. Three Peoria-based filmmakers of central Illinois showed their original films in one night to a heartland audience at Illinois Central College in East Peoria, IL — now streaming as a virtual event.

A Moment Is Enough by William Jacobs, Space Prairie: Act I by Wes Brooks, and Moving Through the Day by John Voss.

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* See YouTube playlist or scroll this page with article highlights to view films anytime *
Heartland filmmakers John Voss, William Jacobs, & Wes Brooks

Media interviews:

Trailers


Space Prairie:
Act I

Synopsis— A traveling taxman lands on a prairie world colonized by a cantankerous pioneer farmer. They quarrel over money matters until their affections for the Angus family daughter leads to a brawl. Meanwhile, two heavy-hearted settlers sight a troubling anomaly in the starry skies above their prairie home.

Filmed on dozens of video cassettes, Space Prairie was authored in April of 2013 and filmed predominately in the summer of 2015 by an ensemble of high schoolers in the Midwest — fifty days of principal photography followed by a gargantuan post-production.

Part 1 of Act I. (67 min.)

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Part 2 of Act I and a preview of Act II. (57 min.)

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Looking back and looking forward. (7 min.)

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Donate to Space Prairie to help cover the cost of Act I and support the completion of Act II.

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Opening scene of Space Prairie: Act I

Act I Poster


Teaser Trailer

Theatrical Trailer


“The horse and buggy once propelled man to new horizons.
Now, light speed and the rocket aids his flight.”

—Space Prairie opening title
A rocket soars as needle through silk.

“She needs a little bit of Earth out here in the middle of this space prairie.”

—Marion Angus
Marion Angus in Space Prairie: Act I

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