TWE 278: Spaceship Earth Producer Stacey Reiss on Biosphere 2 and How Small Groups Can Make Change

Don’t miss a BRAND NEW episode of The Women’s Eye podcast with Stacey Gualandi, where I chat with Stacey Reiss, the Emmy award-winning filmmaker and producer of the upcoming documentary Spaceship Earth, launching everywhere May 8. 

Reiss is the producer of the Sundance smash The Eagle Huntress, The Perfection on Netflix, and HBO’s The Diplomat — just a few titles from her impressive body of work.

Not only is Reiss a good friend to The Women’s Eye (we’ve profiled her twice–see below), the one-time Dateline/NBC News journalist is also a fellow Inside Edition alum, so this was a special reunion of “the Stacey’s.” (note the correct spelling ) 

In January, Spaceship Earth premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was purchased by Neon, the film distribution company behind the Oscar-winning Parasite. 

That was then, this is now. The coronavirus epidemic forced Reiss to lockdown in Utah, far from her New York City base.  She was able to do our podcast/vidcast from her father’s home there.

“We are all in this together no matter where we are,” says Reiss on adjusting to our new normal.

Reiss says Spaceship Earth, directed by Matt Wolf, is the first to explore the 8 people who built Biosphere 2 – a giant replica of the earth’s ecosystem in 1991 – and lived inside the closed system for two years. 

Reiss says the film is extremely relevant to our current COVID-19 climate, and is excited that it’s being released soon.  She hopes audiences will take away one thing: the power of small groups.   

“It shows how small groups of people can come together and achieve great things and accomplish change,” says the married mother of two. “I hope younger people will see this and will realize even though they’re just one person or only part of a small group, that big things can happen. I think we need those fresh perspectives and innovators to give us new ideas about how to face the challenges that are now ahead of us.”

Tune in to hear more from our conversation about Spaceship Earth; filmmaking during a global pandemic; the search for silver linings and the documentaries she recommends we watch while sheltering at home (hint: Crip Camp).

Make sure you get to see Stacey’s film and our vidcast chat right here.

More TWE interviews with Stacey: