The Flight Fantastic:
A Story of Legend & Legacy on the Flying Trapeze
Feature Documentary (92 minutes), Associate Producer
Director: Tom Moore; Editor Jonathan Lucas, with The Flying Gaona Trapeze Family

The Flight Fantastic presents the incredible realm of the Flying Trapeze through one of its most famous families from the golden age of performance in America. It presents myth, legend, and legacy of a magical and fascinating world, with some of the greatest aerial athletes and artists in circus history.

Screened in U.S. Theaters and at National and International film festivals.

The Flight Fantastic website, click here!

THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC’s U.S. premiere was at the Sarasota, Florida International Film Festival.

Sarasota
Interview with Director Tom Moore & Masha Nordbye CLICK HERE

…Followed by screenings at other International Film Festivals from Byron Bay, Australia to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Film had its U.S. West Coast Premiere in Los Angeles, California at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd as part of the coveted American Cinemateque Series. http://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/movies/the-flight-fantastic-screening

A benefit screening was held at the 1100-seat Venice Performing Arts Center in Florida with all members of the Gaona Family.

The Flight Fantastic was also selected to open the DANCE ON CAMERA Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City. Link to Lincoln Center

Additional screenings in New York were held at the Cinema Village Theater on E 12th St and DGA Theater on W 57th.

PRAISE FOR THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC

Director Tom Moore & Producer Masha Nordbye

“The Gaonas light up the screen with their blazing charisma…You will love the circus spirit of the documentary.” Sydney Levine • Indiewire

“Exhilarating…THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC is both a lively biography of the Mexican Circus Family and a primer on trapeze as both art form and joyous expression…While detailing The Flying Gaonas’ fame and influence, the film emphasizes that they’re part of a continuum; trapeze performers who perfect their soaring artistry then teach earthbound Enthusiasts how they, too, can take flight.” Serena Donadoni • Village Voice

“Magnetic, propelled by archival footage and vivid recollections, THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC moves engagingly from the early days to the spotlight years. Tito Gaona’s quest to become the first aerialist to execute a quadruple somersault in performance makes an especially compelling segment, And the family’s work in more recent years to pass along the art form is a nice coda.” Neil Genzlinger • New York Times

“A big top dynasty gets its due…great fun.” John Defore • The Hollywood Reporter

“The film brings The Flying Gaonas vibrant legacy to life….and intersperses the history the Gaonas with anecdotes about loving cinema and the power of art in healing.” John Solis • Stage Buddy

“You’ll be in for one hell of an airborne ride…The film assembles an enormous collection…of trapeze history…which turns out to be every bit as fascinating as the aerialists themselves.” James Van Maanen • Trust Movies

“It may just be one of the artsiest sports or the sportiest forms of art which most of us take for granted. Yet, while seeing THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC we are all reminded of what an incredible undertaking the art of trapeze really is…Chalk up your hands, climb the tall ladder, swing, break, leap, flip and let is passion catch you. You will not be disappointed.” Tony Pinizzotto • Edge Media

In June, 2016, THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC screened in Los Angeles, California at four Laemmle Theater locations in Beverly Hills, Pasadena, North Hollywood and Santa Monica.

“Great performance footage enlivens this documentary on the history of the flying trapeze in general and the legendary Flying Gaonas in particular…Made without computer-generated imagery or elaborate special effects, ‘The Flight Fantastic’ will nevertheless have you doubting your eyes as you watch its action unfold…Footage of this sibling quartet and other memorable performers as they, yes, fly through the air with the greatest of ease never fails to elevate and enthrall…”
Kenneth Turan • Los Angeles Times

“The Flight Fantastic celebrates the thrill of live performance with extensive footage of The Flying Gaonas in their heyday, when the exhilarating trapeze performers’ grace and daring had audiences staring upward in wonderment, eyes wide and mouths agape…”
LA Weekly

“A wonderful mix of past and present day, this doc, featuring the famed ‘first family of the air’ circus flying trapeze legends The Flying Gaonas, is a real love letter to old school showmanship. Dissecting and putting on display the swinging favorites of the big top, ‘The Flight Fantastic’ has a real affinity for its super-human subjects–and it shows. The film jumps from history and grand past performances of utterly breathtaking feats of aerial magnificence to the now older Gaonas paying back by teaching their love of the trapeze and its wares to everyone from eager adults to camps of kids with illness and disabilities with such ease, grace and style that it all but mirrors the magic of its subject.” Jason Coleman • Star Pulse

“Under the watchful eye of the ‘Godfather’ of the Gaona family, Victor and his offsprings, Armando, Chela, Richie and Tito, form the quartet that has seamlessly flown up to take its place in history, alongside The Codonas, The Flying Wallendas and, of course, Mr. Jules Léotard himself. The Flight Fantastic documentary took my breath away on more than one occasion because ‘The Flight Fantastic’ is a film that dares to fly and allows its audiences to soar to their own dreams. Not many films, and even fewer documentaries can boast such imagination and love. The Flight Fantastic can.” E. Nina Rothe – The Huffington Post

PRESS HERE TO PLAY VIDEO: The World Loves THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC!

AND HERE too: Continuing Around the Planet!

THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC

After showing with much fanfare at film festivals and movie theaters around the world, this feature documentary is NOW available to rent or own on VIDEO ON DEMAND (VOD) platforms:

iTunes Movies: bit.ly/tffitunes

Amazon Streaming: bit.ly/tffamazon

GooglePlay: bit.ly/tffgplay

Vimeo OnDemand: bit.ly/tffvimeo

And review the film online. We’re 100% on Rotten Tomatoes Audience score!

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_flight_fantastic www.theflightfantasticfilm.com

April 18-23, 2018: THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC had a special screening at the Circus Fans of America’s convention in Normal, Illinois (once known as the Trapeze Capital of the US), at the town’s historic Art-Deco theater, followed by a Q&A with Richie & Tito Gaona and Tom Moore & Masha. Hosted by Illinois State University and the Circus Hall of Fame, the University’s Milner Library also exhibited its renowned Circus & Allied Arts Collection. And Gamma Phi Circus performed–the longest-running collegiate circus in the US, started by Clifford ‘Pop’ Horton in 1929!

2017