2026 Film: Space Rock

Space Rock by Ben Taman
Los Angeles, CA (Wisconsin Premiere)

Running Time: 3 minutes

Sci-Fi

September 

Avalon Atmospheric Theater

2473 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207

Two friends drive a maybe-from-space rock to the university, chasing a family legend — and discovering the real story was never in the science, but in the belief.

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Directors Bio:

Ben Taman (he/him) is a trans filmmaker originally from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, now based in Los Angeles after a decade in Minneapolis. Living with schizophrenia has shaped his perspective, allowing him to embrace life’s strangeness rather than resist it. His work blends the autobiographical with the surreal, inviting audiences to find connection and beauty in what feels a little “off.”

His feature documentary Do You Think I’m Weird? was selected for the 2025 Gotham Week Project Market (Spotlight on Documentaries). His short Seeing Each Other, Seeing Things will have its World Premiere at the 21st Tucson Film Festival (2025), and his short Space Rock was an Official Selection at Indie Short Fest (2025) in the Super Shorts category.

Ben’s work has been supported by the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Minnesota Regional Arts Council, and SPNN.

Director's Statement:

SPACE ROCK is based on a story my spouse told me — one of those quietly magical family tales that sits somewhere between myth and memory. I was struck by how a single object, like a rock on a mantle, could carry the weight of generations, curiosity, grief, and belief.

This film is a love letter to the stories we inherit and the ones we choose to keep alive. It’s about friendship, loss, and the kind of wonder that doesn’t disappear just because someone says it’s “not from space.” I wanted to honor the quiet weirdness of small-town lore, and the way truth sometimes lives more in feeling than in fact.