Latest news with #CristinaCostantini
New York Times
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Sally' Review: Rocket Woman
'Sally,' a welcome but unadventurous documentary about the astronaut Sally Ride (who died in 2012), wraps a risk-taking personality inside a risk-averse package. What's lacking is style, not substance, as the movie bustles with diverting details. Lengthy interviews with Sally's life partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, are candid and sometimes piquant, but they're too often delivered inside a visual dead space. Other talking heads — including Sally's family and fellow astronauts — are handled similarly, the conventionality of Cristina Costantini's filmmaking disappointingly at odds with the singularity of her subject. Even so, a portrait soon takes shape of an extraordinary woman whose drive and intelligence were aided by a personality that, according to one colleague, was 'strictly business.' One of the first women to be accepted into NASA in 1978 — and the first American woman to fly in space — she faced rampant sexism and an organization laughably unprepared for women in its ranks. (Would 100 tampons be sufficient for a week in space?, a male engineer wondered.) Journalists focused relentlessly on her gender, with one asking whether she would weep if she encountered a problem on a flight. As the film makes clear, Sally was not the weeping type. That was a blessing, as she was also deeply private about her personal life. Perhaps noting the torment suffered by her friend Billie Jean King when her relationship with a woman was made public, Sally committed to secrecy. In the end, blasting through Earth's atmosphere was easier than breaching public opinion. 'It hurt me, but I'm not sure it hurt Sally,' a former girlfriend tells us, with refreshing frankness. In one brief exchange, Sally's mother, Joyce Ride, describes her as 'closed mouthed' about her feelings. When Costantini asks why that might be, an unamused Joyce replies 'It's none of your business.' Her daughter would have been proud. SallyNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes. Watch on Hulu and Disney+.
The Independent
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
What to Stream: HAIM, 'The Gilded Age,' Benson Boone, astronaut Sally Ride and digital dinosaurs
Lifelike digital Triceratops and Spinosaurus lumbering through a reimagined 'Walking with Dinosaurs' and Benson Boone's sophomore album ' American Heart' are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by The Associated Press' entertainment journalists: A documentary on trailblazing NASA astronaut Sally Ride, the third season of 'The Gilded Age' and Tron: Catalyst, a video game inspired by the 1982 movie 'Tron.' New movies to stream from June 16-22 — Cristina Costantini's documentary 'Sally' (Tuesday on Disney+) richly details the story behind the headlines of the first American woman to fly in space. The portrait of Sally Ride, the trailblazing NASA astronaut, is narrated by her life partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy. Her intimate perspective on Ride, along with archival footage and interviews with family and colleagues, captures a fuller backstory to an American icon who rose despite pervasive sexism. — 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' (streaming on Peacock) was a standout in the first half of 2025, but easy to miss. A funny and tender charmer set on the coast of Wales, it's not a movie screaming for your attention. It stars Tim Key as an isolated widower who uses some of his lottery winnings to hire his favorite band, a folk duo named McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan) to play by his rural home. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr wrote that the film feels 'like a much-needed balm. Modest in scope and made with the lightest of touch, not unlike the lovely folk songs that populate its soundtrack, it's also deceptively powerful: A gentle ode to moving on, in quirky packaging.' — Netflix tends to bury older films in its algorithms but the streamer is hosting a good batch of Alfred Hitchcock movies. This month, it added 'Vertigo,' 'Rear Window,' 'The Man Who Knew Too Much,' 'Frenzy,' 'The Plot' and 'The Birds' to its collection, along with the already-streaming 'Psycho.' These are movies often available elsewhere, and there are many other great Hitchcock films. But a solid sampler pack on Netflix could help bring Hitch to some new audiences, and there's never a bad time to see 'Vertigo' for the first time. — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle New music to stream from June 16-22 — 'Beautiful Things' singer Benson Boone will release his sophomore album, 'American Heart,' on Friday, June 20. Expect big pop-rock filtered through a kind of post-Harry Styles mimicry, and 1970s worship. For fans of Queen, ELO, and gymnastic pop stars with a penchant for doing backflips on stage. — The Los Angeles sister trio HAIM have returned with 'I Quit,' 15 tracks of danceable breakup bangers perfect for your summertime sadness. It's soft rock-pop for the Miu Miu crowd and a sonic cure for seasonal depression. — The Brooklyn-based R&B/soul singer-songwriter Yaya Bey will release a new album on Friday, June 20, 'do it afraid.' It's a big of a detour for the ever-evolving talent: 'Merlot and Grigio' features Bajan dancehall artist Father Philis, the dance-y 'Dream Girl' has echoes of Prince and 'Raisins' is a bit jazzy. There's a lot to love here. — For the indie crowd, the New York-based Hotline TNT have been a fan favorite for their shoegaze-y power pop that appeals to both classic rockers and those emo pop-punkers who miss the Vans' Warped Tour. On Friday, June 20, the group, led by Will Anderson, will release 'Raspberry Moon' via Jack White's Third Man Records. Across the release, they build on their guitar melodicism. — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman New series to stream from June 16-22 — In 1999 a series called 'Walking with Dinosaurs' premiered in the UK and captivated audiences. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, it was inspired by 'Jurassic Park' and at the time was the most expensive documentary per-minute ever made. Special effects like CGI and animatronics helped bring the dinosaurs to life. Twenty-five years later, a reimagined 'Walking with Dinosaurs' debuts on PBS in conjunction with the BBC using the latest technology to make the dinosaurs seem even more lifelike. The six-episode series is now narrated by actor Bertie Carvel. It will be available to stream on PBS platforms and its app beginning Monday. — It's a great week for period pieces. First, Apple TV+'s Gilded Age, girl power series, 'The Buccaneers,' returns Wednesday for its second season. The soapy period piece features a cast that includes Kristine Froseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah and Christina Hendricks. It's based on an unfinished Edith Wharton novel about five American women in London for debutante season. These women are a contrast to English high society because they're extroverted and opinionated. The story is centered around Froseth's Nan who is in a love triangle although each character has their own drama to contend with. Leighton Meester has also joined the cast. — BritBox has the 1930s drama 'Outrageous," also out Wednesday. It's based on the true story of the Mitford sisters, six women born into an aristocratic family who made headlines for their personal lives and politics. Bessie Carter, who plays Penelope Featherington on 'Bridgerton' plays one of the sisters, Nancy Mitford. 'Outrageous' is inspired by a biography that was originally published in 2002. — The TV adaptation of the popular YA novel 'We Were Liars' arrives on Prime Video on Wednesday. It follows the affluent Sinclair family who has enough secrets to fill one of their bank accounts. It follows Cadence, one of the granddaughters who pals around all summer with two cousins and a family friend, Gat, and their group of four is known as The Liars. When Cadence is injured and no one will be honest with her about what happened, she attempts to piece together what happened. — Another dysfunctional family is introduced Thursday in Netflix's 'The Waterfront" about the Buckleys, a family of fisherman and restaurateurs in North Carolina. Business has been dwindling and questionable choices are made to stay afloat, keep their secrets, and not get caught by authorities. Holt McCallany ("Mindhunter") Maria Bello and Melissa Benoist star. Topher Grace and Dave Annable also have recurring roles. — A third period piece out this week is the third season of 'The Gilded Age" and there is a lot to catch up on. Cynthia Nixon's Ada Forte, now a widower after a very short marriage, has just discovered her late husband left her a fortune. This makes Ada the new matriarch of her family, surpassing her sister Agnes (played by Christine Baranski.) Their niece Marian (Louisa Jacobson) seems to be in the early stages of a courtship with neighbor Larry Russell, whose family's wealth comes from new money. Created by Julian Fellowes, the new season premieres Sunday, June 22 on Max. — Alicia Rancilio New video games to play from June 16-22 — The influence of Disney's movie 'Tron,' with its icy, neon vision of cyberspace, far outweighs the number of people who actually saw it when it came out in 1982. (I know I spent a lot more time playing the arcade game.) We are getting a third movie, 'Tron: Ares,' in October — but first we get a new game, Tron: Catalyst. You are Exo, an advanced computer program in a glitchy electronic world. You'll need to fight malware with your Identity Disc or run from it on your Light Cycle as you try to escape a malevolent entity called Conn. Developer Bithell Games' previous release, Tron: Identity, was a tightly focused mystery, and Catalyst looks to expand upon its stylish metaverse. Boot up Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch and PC.
Associated Press
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
What to Stream: HAIM, 'The Gilded Age,' Benson Boone, astronaut Sally Ride and digital dinosaurs
Lifelike digital Triceratops and Spinosaurus lumbering through a reimagined 'Walking with Dinosaurs' and Benson Boone's sophomore album 'American Heart' are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by The Associated Press' entertainment journalists: A documentary on trailblazing NASA astronaut Sally Ride, the third season of 'The Gilded Age' and Tron: Catalyst, a video game inspired by the 1982 movie 'Tron.' New movies to stream from June 16-22 — Cristina Costantini's documentary 'Sally' (Tuesday on Disney+) richly details the story behind the headlines of the first American woman to fly in space. The portrait of Sally Ride, the trailblazing NASA astronaut, is narrated by her life partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy. Her intimate perspective on Ride, along with archival footage and interviews with family and colleagues, captures a fuller backstory to an American icon who rose despite pervasive sexism. — 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' (streaming on Peacock) was a standout in the first half of 2025, but easy to miss. A funny and tender charmer set on the coast of Wales, it's not a movie screaming for your attention. It stars Tim Key as an isolated widower who uses some of his lottery winnings to hire his favorite band, a folk duo named McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan) to play by his rural home. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr wrote that the film feels 'like a much-needed balm. Modest in scope and made with the lightest of touch, not unlike the lovely folk songs that populate its soundtrack, it's also deceptively powerful: A gentle ode to moving on, in quirky packaging.' — Netflix tends to bury older films in its algorithms but the streamer is hosting a good batch of Alfred Hitchcock movies. This month, it added 'Vertigo,' 'Rear Window,' 'The Man Who Knew Too Much,' 'Frenzy,' 'The Plot' and 'The Birds' to its collection, along with the already-streaming 'Psycho.' These are movies often available elsewhere, and there are many other great Hitchcock films. But a solid sampler pack on Netflix could help bring Hitch to some new audiences, and there's never a bad time to see 'Vertigo' for the first time. — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle New music to stream from June 16-22 — 'Beautiful Things' singer Benson Boone will release his sophomore album, 'American Heart,' on Friday, June 20. Expect big pop-rock filtered through a kind of post-Harry Styles mimicry, and 1970s worship. For fans of Queen, ELO, and gymnastic pop stars with a penchant for doing backflips on stage. — The Los Angeles sister trio HAIM have returned with 'I Quit,' 15 tracks of danceable breakup bangers perfect for your summertime sadness. It's soft rock-pop for the Miu Miu crowd and a sonic cure for seasonal depression. — The Brooklyn-based R&B/soul singer-songwriter Yaya Bey will release a new album on Friday, June 20, 'do it afraid.' It's a big of a detour for the ever-evolving talent: 'Merlot and Grigio' features Bajan dancehall artist Father Philis, the dance-y 'Dream Girl' has echoes of Prince and 'Raisins' is a bit jazzy. There's a lot to love here. — For the indie crowd, the New York-based Hotline TNT have been a fan favorite for their shoegaze-y power pop that appeals to both classic rockers and those emo pop-punkers who miss the Vans' Warped Tour. On Friday, June 20, the group, led by Will Anderson, will release 'Raspberry Moon' via Jack White's Third Man Records. Across the release, they build on their guitar melodicism. — AP Music Writer Maria ShermanNew series to stream from June 16-22 — In 1999 a series called 'Walking with Dinosaurs' premiered in the UK and captivated audiences. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, it was inspired by 'Jurassic Park' and at the time was the most expensive documentary per-minute ever made. Special effects like CGI and animatronics helped bring the dinosaurs to life. Twenty-five years later, a reimagined 'Walking with Dinosaurs' debuts on PBS in conjunction with the BBC using the latest technology to make the dinosaurs seem even more lifelike. The six-episode series is now narrated by actor Bertie Carvel. It will be available to stream on PBS platforms and its app beginning Monday. — It's a great week for period pieces. First, Apple TV+'s Gilded Age, girl power series, 'The Buccaneers,' returns Wednesday for its second season. The soapy period piece features a cast that includes Kristine Froseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah and Christina Hendricks. It's based on an unfinished Edith Wharton novel about five American women in London for debutante season. These women are a contrast to English high society because they're extroverted and opinionated. The story is centered around Froseth's Nan who is in a love triangle although each character has their own drama to contend with. Leighton Meester has also joined the cast. — BritBox has the 1930s drama 'Outrageous,' also out Wednesday. It's based on the true story of the Mitford sisters, six women born into an aristocratic family who made headlines for their personal lives and politics. Bessie Carter, who plays Penelope Featherington on 'Bridgerton' plays one of the sisters, Nancy Mitford. 'Outrageous' is inspired by a biography that was originally published in 2002. — The TV adaptation of the popular YA novel 'We Were Liars' arrives on Prime Video on Wednesday. It follows the affluent Sinclair family who has enough secrets to fill one of their bank accounts. It follows Cadence, one of the granddaughters who pals around all summer with two cousins and a family friend, Gat, and their group of four is known as The Liars. When Cadence is injured and no one will be honest with her about what happened, she attempts to piece together what happened. — Another dysfunctional family is introduced Thursday in Netflix's 'The Waterfront' about the Buckleys, a family of fisherman and restaurateurs in North Carolina. Business has been dwindling and questionable choices are made to stay afloat, keep their secrets, and not get caught by authorities. Holt McCallany ('Mindhunter') Maria Bello and Melissa Benoist star. Topher Grace and Dave Annable also have recurring roles. — A third period piece out this week is the third season of 'The Gilded Age' and there is a lot to catch up on. Cynthia Nixon's Ada Forte, now a widower after a very short marriage, has just discovered her late husband left her a fortune. This makes Ada the new matriarch of her family, surpassing her sister Agnes (played by Christine Baranski.) Their niece Marian (Louisa Jacobson) seems to be in the early stages of a courtship with neighbor Larry Russell, whose family's wealth comes from new money. Created by Julian Fellowes, the new season premieres Sunday, June 22 on Max. — Alicia Rancilio New video games to play from June 16-22 — The influence of Disney's movie 'Tron,' with its icy, neon vision of cyberspace, far outweighs the number of people who actually saw it when it came out in 1982. (I know I spent a lot more time playing the arcade game.) We are getting a third movie, 'Tron: Ares,' in October — but first we get a new game, Tron: Catalyst. You are Exo, an advanced computer program in a glitchy electronic world. You'll need to fight malware with your Identity Disc or run from it on your Light Cycle as you try to escape a malevolent entity called Conn. Developer Bithell Games' previous release, Tron: Identity, was a tightly focused mystery, and Catalyst looks to expand upon its stylish metaverse. Boot up Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch and PC. — Lou Kesten
Forbes
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Why Sally Ride's Legacy Still Challenges The Culture Of STEM
Astronaut Sally RIde with a headset on in space during her STS-7 flight. Sally Ride made history on June 18, 1983, when she became the first American woman to launch into space. Her calm precision and unflinching focus made her an icon in STEM—a face of possibility for girls across the country and around the world. But a new documentary from National Geographic, Sally, reveals another dimension of her legacy—one that remained private throughout her lifetime. Premiering June 16 on National Geographic and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the next day, Sally tells the story not only of Ride's groundbreaking achievements as a physicist and astronaut, but of her 27-year partnership with fellow scientist and educator Tam O'Shaughnessy—a relationship Ride never publicly acknowledged while she was alive. Directed by Emmy-winner Cristina Costantini, the film reframes Ride's legacy, offering a deeper, more personal portrait of a woman who inspired millions while carefully guarding her own truth. I recently had the privilege of sitting down with O'Shaughnessy and Costantini to better understand the motivation behind the documentary and what they hope audiences will take away from it. What emerged from our conversation was a sense that this film isn't just about legacy—it's about visibility, resilience and the complicated cost of breaking barriers in science. Being first often means carrying the weight of symbolic representation. Ride wasn't just an astronaut—she was proof that women could thrive in space and science. But with that role came expectations: be competent, but never emotional. Be visible, but only selectively. The unwritten contract Ride operated under demanded technical excellence and personal silence. As Tam told me, the decision to finally share their relationship publicly didn't begin with a film pitch. It began with grief. 'Since about a week before Sally died, I told her I wanted to hold a celebration of her life,' she said. 'And then I wondered who I was going to be to the people coming to the celebration who didn't know we were a couple.' Sally told her, 'You decide. Whatever you decide will be the right thing to do.' That moment of quiet affirmation—Ride's way of granting permission without demanding visibility—was the start of a longer process. It would take more than a decade, but O'Shaughnessy eventually found the right partners in National Geographic and Costantini to tell the full story. Costantini, known for documentaries like Science Fair and Mucho Mucho Amor, wanted Sally to be about more than just history. 'We made this film for anyone who's ever had to hide part of themselves to get where they want to be,' she told me. 'In 2025, that experience feels more relevant than ever.' That sense of coded identity—the need to suppress aspects of self to be taken seriously—remains a reality in many corners of science and technology. Despite progress, LGBTQ+ scientists are still underrepresented in leadership roles. Women in STEM continue to navigate environments that value output over authenticity. This is particularly poignant and relevant today, as the Trump administration systematically and aggressively works to erase visibility of women, people of color, immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals from US history. And while Ride's accomplishments helped crack the glass ceiling, her silence shows us the structural weight it takes to hold that ceiling in place. Astronaut Sally Ride next to a T-38 Jet during training at NASA Johnson Space Center. Even after leaving NASA, Ride continued to shape the STEM world. In 2001, she and O'Shaughnessy founded Sally Ride Science, a nonprofit aimed at promoting STEM education for girls and underrepresented youth. That mission continues today at UC San Diego, where O'Shaughnessy and a dedicated team run programs that connect students with scientists and researchers. It's not just the curriculum that draws kids in—it's the name. 'Sally's name is magic,' O'Shaughnessy said. 'It's why the boys and girls sign up, and it's why parents want their kids to be exposed to these programs.' And that's what makes the timing of Sally so significant. At a moment when LGBTQ+ stories are being scrubbed from public institutions and women's rights are under attack, this documentary insists on complexity. It reclaims a narrative that was always there, but never acknowledged. What Sally reveals is a fuller picture of a scientist, a leader and a partner. Someone who not only pushed the boundaries of what women could do in science, but who also made space—quietly, privately—for the people she loved. Ride's story still resonates because it's unfinished. It now invites a broader range of people to see themselves in her legacy—not just young girls interested in STEM, but anyone who's ever felt that they had to choose between their passion and their identity. For the STEM community, that's the challenge ahead. The human race has a lot of challenges to address and there are plenty of undiscovered frontiers to tackle. We can't afford to exclude entire populations of people based on nothing more than fragile egos and narrow-minded bigotry. It's not enough to recruit diverse talent. We have to build systems where people can bring their full selves to the work. Because progress isn't just about putting the first woman in space. It's about making sure she wouldn't have to hide once she landed.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘People didn't like women in space': how Sally Ride made history and paid the price
A week before Sally – a documentary about the first American woman to fly into space – landed at the Sundance film festival in January, Nasa employees received emails informing them how Donald Trump's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rollbacks would take effect. Contracts and offices associated with DEI programs were to be terminated. Staff were given Orwellian instruction to inform the government of any attempt to disguise inclusion efforts in 'coded or imprecise language'. In the weeks to follow, Nasa would take back its promise to send the first woman and person of color to the moon's surface. Meanwhile, employees are reported to be hiding their rainbow flags and any other expressions of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, allegedly because they were instructed to do so though Nasa denies those claims. 'The pride flag flew in space a couple years ago,' says Cristina Costantini, the director of Sally, on a Zoom call with the Guardian. 'Now all Nasa employees are being asked to take down any representations of pride.' Related: 'Absolutely shocking': Netflix documentary examines how the Titan sub disaster happened Costantini calls the developments sad, especially because such harmful silencing contributes to the very atmosphere that made her film's subject hide her own queer identity throughout her celebrated career. Sally Ride, who made history when she rode the space shuttle Challenger into the stars on 18 June 1983, was a lesbian. The public, and so many who knew Ride personally, only found out that part of her legacy after she died of cancer in 2012. Ride's obituary identified Tam O'Shaughnessy as her partner of 27 years. O'Shaughnessy is a key voice in Sally, a National Geographic documentary revisiting everything we thought we knew about Ride – from her astronomic accomplishments to the infuriating sexism she confronted at Nasa and in the media, with reporters questioning how she would dress, whether space travel would affect her ovaries and if she would buckle and cry in the face of daunting challenges. But now there's the extra dimension, the part of Ride kept tragically buried because of the institutionalized homophobia we see resurfacing today. 'We made this movie not thinking it was particularly controversial,' says Costantini. 'We had no idea it would be this relevant.' Costantini is speaking from her Los Angeles office in Atwater Village, a photo of a space shuttle and another of Ride on the Challenger mission hovering just behind her. The investigative reporter turned film-maker – who grew up wanting to be a scientist and made her feature debut co-directing the Sundance audience award winner Science Fair – describes Ride as a major influence on her life. She remembers researching the astronaut as a young child on an old Encarta Encyclopedia CD-Rom for a book report. In grade three, Costantini contributed to a class mural where the students in her Milwaukee school painted their heroes on a wall. Ride is drawn standing alongside Brett Favre and Michael Jordan – a small sampling of the heroes that fed childhood aspirations in the mid-90s, says Costantini. With Sally, Costantini is returning to her icon's story with a canvas bigger than either a book report or mural, but an even more challenging story to tell. 'The film is really two stories interwoven,' says Costantini. 'It's the public and the private Sally. The public Sally is so well-documented that it's a problem. We had to bring in 5,000 reels from the Nasa archive and sort through and sound sync all of them. That was a monumental task. 'And then the other task is the private story, maybe the more interesting story, which has no documentation at all. There are only five really good pictures of [Sally and her partner, Tam] together that we had. You can't build a love story out of showing people the same five pictures over and over again. For that we had to kind of invent our own cinematic romantic language.' Costantini's doc pairs narrations from O'Shaughnessy and others who were close to Ride with animation and 16mm visuals. They express the love, the excitement of first relationships, the heavy toll from keeping these feelings secret and the sting when Ride – whose noted emotional reserve is making more and more sense – would behave inexplicably. 'Sally is a very confusing central subject in some ways,' says Costantini, remarking on how Ride didn't always make for a picture-perfect feminist hero, the uneasiness going a long way to make her even more compelling. The director refers to a story recounted by fellow astronaut Kathryn Sullivan. During the race to become the first American woman to go to space, Ride sabotaged a Nasa exercise Sullivan was working on. Talking heads mull whether that was an example of Ride's prankster sense of humour, or a cutthroat competitive nature that flew in the face of female solidarity and sisterhood. 'She didn't leave tell all diaries or an audio journal of how she was feeling in every single moment. So we're left to interpret later on what her choices were, and why she did what she did.' Costantini also points to Ride's five-year marriage to fellow astronaut Steve Hawley. The union in retrospect can be seen as a betrayal of who she was, and the LGTBQ+ movement that she never publicly aligned with. But it was also a necessary and sacrificial career move to make her dream possible, deflecting any suspicions about sexual orientation while making Ride a more ideal candidate to make history and inspire young women. 'People didn't like women in space,' says Costantini. 'And they especially didn't like single women in space. Some of the male astronauts were, like: 'Well, it was a good look for her not to be single and in space.'' When Ride does climb above the atmosphere on her historic mission, there's a cathartic moment where the tense conflicts within her – or put upon her – are either resolved or abandoned, if only temporarily. Related: Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story review – dazzling glamour and true grit 'I loved being weightless,' says Ride, while in space, her recorded words packing new mean considering all the burdens we now understand. 'It's a feeling of freedom.' 'She escaped Earth's orbit – Earth's gravity – metaphorically too,' says Costantini, on that pivotal moment in American history and Ride's personal life. 'Looking at the Earth from space, she started to, for the first time, really think about the imaginary lines that we have. She was struck by the fact that all these countries have known borders around them. These are human constructions. As Tam says in the film, the lines between genders, the lines between race, the lines between countries, who we're allowed to love, those are meaningless constructs. 'Space was transformative for her. When she came back to Earth, she finally allowed herself to be who she really is, and love who she really loved.' Sally premieres on National Geographic on 16 June and is available on Hulu and Disney+ on 17 June
