New Australian Sci-Fi Film Explores The Real Science And Ethical Risks Of Time Travel
A grounded, ethically charged sci-fi drama that asks: how far should we go in the name of discovery – and what price are we willing to pay to get there?
By Julius Ewudo, Cyber Era NG ASEAN Region Representative
SPACE/TIME, a bold new Australian independent film, is out now on Video On Demand, inviting audiences to consider what happens when real-world physics edges into ethically uncharted territory.
Directed by Michael O’Halloran and co-written with Adam Harmer, SPACE/TIME tells the story of a team of scientists whose work on an interstellar propulsion device takes an unexpected and dangerous turn – toward the manipulation of space-time itself.
What sets the film apart is its foundation in actual theoretical physics. SPACE/TIME draws inspiration from real-world science, including the discovery of the Higgs boson particle and experimental research at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
“We were fascinated by how real physics is starting to raise science-fiction-scale questions,” says co-writer Adam Harmer. “What would it actually take to build a time machine – and more importantly, who gets to decide how it’s used?”
At a time when technologies like artificial intelligence are advancing at breakneck speed, SPACE/TIME taps into a broader cultural moment: one where scientific progress is no longer just exciting – it’s unsettling. The film raises the kinds of questions we’re now asking in real life: Who controls these breakthroughs? Do the ends justify the means? And what happens when the consequences can’t be reversed?
As the fictional scientists face catastrophe, their obsession with completing their machine forces them into ethically murky territory. The film explores the emotional cost of unchecked ambition and the moral weight that comes with pushing the boundaries of discovery.
