Daniel Claridge and Pacho Velez’s illuminating They’re Here cleverly toys with UFO culture by using it as a conduit to explore themes of perception and of human beings seeking a sense of connection and purpose. From high above, we see an aerial view of a quiet New York suburb. We look closer and see a quaint home. Cookie, who lives in the house, points to the window out of which she was abducted by extraterrestrials. When she senses skepticism from the interviewers behind the camera, she smiles assertively and states, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe — I accept that. You know, it’s not your time to believe. Something will happen in your future, and, all of a sudden, the lightbulb will go off.”

New York — the state with the fifth-most UFO sightings in the U.S. — is home to many true believers like Cookie. A part of a wider group of like-minded individuals, Cookie, along with her friend Steve, stand-up comic Twon and spiritual devotee Dave, share similarly grounded testimonies about their close encounters with otherworldly beings. Infused with moments of humor and empathetic poignancy, the film’s narrative delivers an absorbing sense of filmmaking.––Jose Rodriguez

Pacho Velez and Daniel Claridge