In 1957 Laika, a stray dog, was the first living being to be sent into space. According to a legend, she returned to Earth as a ghost and has roamed the streets of Moscow ever since. Following her trace, and filmed from a dog’s perspective, SPACE DOGS accompanies the adventures of her descendants: two street dogs living in today’s Moscow. A magical tale of voyagers scouting for unknown spaces interwoven with unseen archive material from the Soviet cosmic era.

This film is about the relationship of another species to us humans. A species that has been used in space history in two ways: both as an experimental object and as a symbol of courage and heroism. The dogs had to fulfil mankind’s dream by conquering the cosmos for them. Their story became a fable, a nascent legend, of a bitterness that we chose to illustrate. ‚Space Dogs’ is dedicated to these fables and legends, to unknown worlds and to their discoverers.

Directors’ statement