Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt’s Space Cowboy follows Joe Jennings, a skydiving cinematographer, and his incredible life story and talent for aerial filmmaking. The documentary covers Jennings and his production team’s process of finding the perfect car that can freefall in air. It also delves into his backstory and passion for aerial filmmaking.
Our story starts in New Jersey during the 1960s. Jennings grew up in a complicated household where his parents had opposing values. His mother wanted a career and college education, while his father desired a traditional family. Beyond his parents having marital issues, he struggled in school with ADHD. The combination of his different learning process and his parents’ messy separation resulted in him and his siblings being sent to a hippie commune in the country. While staying at this commune, Jennings was able to develop his athletic skills.
Once he turned 18, he moved to California for a fresh start. In college, he fell for his future wife, Sissy. She was the one who initiated skydiving for fun, and this activity proved to be beneficial as Jennings loved the thrill of it. He became obsessed with the daring activity. This led him to work as an aerial cameraman in order to pay the bills during college. He became very skilled at this job, and it set the seeds for his amazing career. In the 1980s-90s, he collaborated with Rob Harris, a DJ and breakdancer (seen in Lionel Ritchie’s performance at the Los Angeles Olympics). Jennings and Harris made a phenomenal team, where they competed in skydiving competitions and the X Games. He would film Harris skysurfing and creating dynamic stunts.
“…Jennings took aerial filmmaking in an innovative direction by incorporating objects into skydiving.”
The duo skyrocketed to success, which led to Jennings receiving many gigs, including director of a skydiving sequence on Baywatch. As this was happening, he began to have imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome was an early sign of depression. Unfortunately, things would take a tragic turn for Jennings and Harris. While filming a James Bond-themed commercial for Mountain Dew, Harris had a parachute accident. It affected Jennings deeply, and his depression increased. Despite this, he persevered and pushed the limits of aerial cinematography.
Audiences will be captivated by magnificent skydiving and aerial stunts. Joe Jennings took aerial filmmaking in an innovative direction by incorporating objects into skydiving. His amazing choreography is pure cinematic spectacle. He’s up there with Buster Keaton, Larry Semon, and Gene Kelly, filmmakers that either elevated slapstick comedy or danced for the screen. Jennings took aerial movement in a fluid and artistic direction. His team’s craftmanship perfecting a car for an aerial stunt is fascinating, as it required many hours of welding and putting in the right parts.
Watching him overcome ADHD and depression is inspiring and makes Jennings a great figure for future filmmakers. He’s a true maverick and pioneer with his filmmaking techniques in our VFX age. I would be remiss not to mention that this film is a wonderful tribute to Rob Harris. Harris brought a level of physicality to skysurfing that is simply superhuman. Check out this thrilling documentary if you appreciate craftsmanship and death-defying stunts.
Space Cowboy screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
"…Harris had a parachute accident… affected Jennings deeply, and his depression increased."
