McNitt is a writer and director. Her work has been described by the New York Times as “beautiful and surprising.” She explores the cosmic collision of science and art. From astronauts to astrophysicists, McNitt works alongside scientists to tell stories about the human connection to the cosmos. Her films and VR experiences have appeared at festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Hot Docs, Cannes NEXT, and AFI Fest. She’s a two time Intel Science Fair winner, OneFifty creator, and Alfred P. Sloan grant recipient. McNitt is the creator of FISTFUL OF STARS a VR experience following the journey of The Hubble Telescope through the cosmos that drew an audience of over 6,000 people at BRIC! Celebrate Brooklyn. Her upcoming VR series SPHERES Executive Produced by Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel is an episodic journey through the songs of spacetime. SPHERES stars Jessica Chastain as the voice of the cosmos. SPHERES made history at the Sundance Film Festival as the world's first ever acquisition of a VR experience.
Eliza found filmmaking through science. A top winner of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for her research on Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder, Eliza's first film was inspired by a desire to communicate the devastating impact of vanishing honeybees. Her honeybee research received the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering’s Gerber Medal–the state’s highest award for student science research–as well as special awards from The Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory, MIT-Lincoln Lab, the Audubon Society, CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research), the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, Pfizer, the United States Armed Forces, the United States Air Force, and Connecticut Governor Jody Rell.
Her documentary Requiem for the Honeybee was broadcast internationally on C-Span. Since then, Eliza has developed a passion for telling stories that challenge contemporary views of science. At NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Eliza was the winner of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Production Grant for her film Without Fire which was filmed on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, starring Magdalena Begay (Drunktown’s Finest) and Misty Upham (Frozen River, August: Osage County). Eliza's short film Artemis Falls starring Adepero Oduye (Pariah, 12 Years A Slave) was commissioned by TED and follows an astronaut on her journey into space. Her unique voice as a director, fusing science with narrative storytelling has been supported by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, TED, Google, Intel, Samsung, VICE, and Time Warner OneFifty.
She is the creator of Fistful of Stars a Virtual Reality experience following the journey of The Hubble Telescope through the cosmos that drew an audience of over 6,000 people at BRIC! Celebrate Brooklyn and was the world’s largest communal virtual reality experience to date. The New Yorker profiled the experience writing “it astounded me, this feeling of floating above Earth, and tears began to emerge from my cardboard goggles.” Fistful of Stars is available through Samsung x VICE on Beyond The Frame. She is an artist-in-residence with Time Warner OneFifty and a member of the New Museum’s NEW INC, an incubator to foster innovative projects in art and technology. Her next VR experience SPHERES is an episodic journey into the songs of the cosmos.
Projects
- Dot of LightA film by Eliza McNitt, produced in collaboration with Google. DOT OF LIGHT is the story of three astronauts and their journey to the stars. Through archival footage, immersive imagery of space exploration, and intimate interviews with astronauts Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, Nicole Stott, and Anousheh Ansari, this short film brings to life the stories of women who defied expectations, set records, and pioneered space travel. The film incorporates footage captured with Pixel. DOT OF LIGHT is also an extension of McNitt’s collaboration with Google on a limited edition series of Artworks Live Cases for Pixel. Launching on National Space Day, McNitt’s case designs are inspired by the journeys of women astronauts and the dream of interstellar travel. The cases can be customized and purchased online at the Google Store.
- SPHERES: Songs of SpacetimeDive into the heart of a black hole and uncover the hidden songs of the cosmos. In this interactive VR experience, the breakthrough discovery of gravitational waves transforms how we see the Universe. Fall into the darkness, and you will find the light. Read WIRED article here. Written + Directed by Eliza McNitt Narrated by Jessica Chastain Executive Produced by Darren Aronofsky & Ari Handel
Projects credited in
- This International Women’s Day, meet the 200 Women Redefining the Creative Industry in 2018Discover our 2020 list here This International Women's Day, we asked influential icons to nominate 10 trailblazing women who they believe are redefining the creator landscape. The result? A unique and incredible list of 200 trailblazing women breaking barriers and inspiring change! Only 36% of jobs in the creative sector are currently filled by women. At the top of the tree there’s an even bigger problem - women make up only 11% of Creative Directors. In an attempt to change this, our month-lo165