FIRST CONTACT

 

FIRST CONTACT – 90 MIN FEATURE - BBC STUDIOS / BBC2 – DIRECTOR: NIC STACEY

BBC2 and PBS join forces for First Contact, a gripping, War of the Worlds-style hybrid drama/documentary that explores a near future where extraterrestrial life is finally detected.

Written and directed by Nic Stacey (The World According to Jeff Goldblum), the 90-minute film seamlessly blends a fictional narrative with real interviews from the world's leading scientists. Production powerhouse BBC Studios Science Unit—the team behind Netflix’s BAFTA-winning The Surgeon’s Cut and BBC2/PBS’s The Planets—spearheads the project.

As experts warn that discovering alien life is now a genuine, imminent possibility, the feature profiles cutting-edge technology like the James Webb Space Telescope. It showcases insights from top-tier pioneers, including Dr. Jill Tarter, the real-life inspiration for Jodie Foster’s character in Contact.

The film comes commissioned by Patrick Holland (BBC Director, Factual, Arts and Classical Music Television) and Jack Bootle (Head of Commissioning, Science and Natural History).

I’ve always loved to cut - and I always will. That passion has driven me to dedicate over 30 years to the craft of editing.

In that time, I’ve been honored with an Emmy, a Grierson Award, an RTS Award, a Broadcast Award, and a Critics Choice Award.

My work includes four BAFTA-nominated documentaries, an RTS-nominated documentary series, and eight Grierson-nominated films across five different categories.

I specialise in editing imaginative, forward-thinking films - projects that have earned critical acclaim and been broadcast by Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, Sky Documentaries, BBC, Channel 4, and ITV.

For me - there’s something deeply creative about taking existing material, carving it up, and reshaping it into something entirely new. That transformation - turning the raw into the remarkable - is where my imagination thrives.

“Once you unleash a film out of its trap, it should have an unstoppable gravitational force to it.”

The Cutter