Like the debris gathered by the villagers who live near the Baikonur space station on the Kazakh steppe, she will literally fall from the sky. She is Julie Mahé, a beautiful, wealthy young woman who paid $20 million to spend a week in space accompanied by two astronauts. But money can’t guarantee the crew a safe landing. The space tourist is in for an unexpected adventure when Iskander, a radio operator who everyone calls Gagarin, discovers her lying unconscious beside the space capsule—and, as is the villagers’ wont, figures that “whatever falls from the sky is yours”. This fairytale prince of sorts has just found his Sleeping Beauty. German filmmaker Veit Helmer (Absurdistan) reinvents the codes of romantic comedy as he documents the nomadic way of life of the Kazakhs, blended with elements of space fantasy. Baikonur is a charming, lively film that weaves a feel-good, optimistic narrative against the stunning backdrop of the steppe. Its non-pro cast features two promising talents: Alexander Asochakov and Marie de Villepin, daughter of the former French prime minister!