Aelita: Queen of Mars

Promoted like no Soviet film ever before, Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) follows an engineer who journeys to the Red Planet and aids Queen Aelita in a revolution. Don’t miss this rare  chance to experience one of the earliest science-fiction films on the big screen at MBT, brought  to life with live musical accompaniment by the renowned Filmharmonia Duo: Dennis James and Mark Goldstein.

In a 1992 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, James called Aelita “a picture window into Soviet society when Utopian goals were considered positive things,” expressing hope for a revival of this underappreciated gem.

Based on a 1923 novella by Aleksey N. Tolstoy, who originally imagined Martians as a decadent race descended from survivors of ancient Atlantis, the film downplayed the sci-fi elements and Atlantis origins to focus instead on the real-world hardships faced by Soviet citizens during the Russian Civil War. Director Jakov Protazanov pushed revolutionary ideals to the forefront, Aelita presents themes of class struggle, utopia, and collective progress tempered with a love triangle, a murder, and a comedic subplot. 

Funded by German investors hoping to ignite a global workers’ movement through cinema, the Moscow-based Mezhrabprom-Rus studio planned Aelita as a massive production to rival the grand epics of Germany and Hollywood.

Experience Aelita, Queen of Mars as it was meant to be seen, on the big screen with live music and a sense of revolutionary wonder.