The Challenge - POC

THE CHALLENGE is a Cold War–era thriller set in the final hours before the Space Shuttle Challenger launch. Following Alexei, a Soviet defector working as a NASA engineer under an assumed identity, the film explores the impossible choice between personal survival and catastrophic truth as political pressure, silence, and fear close in.

Created as a proof of concept for a feature-length screenplay, the short establishes the tone, world, and emotional stakes of the larger story, grounded in historical reality while driven by intimate human tension. The Challenge demonstrates the visual language, suspense, and moral urgency of the feature, culminating in a moment that reframes history through the eyes of one man who tried to stop it.