Two years after his futuristic Metropolis, in 1929 Fritz Lang adapted a novel by his wife to make Woman in the Moon – a film regarded as the first ‘true’ science fiction film. It was also the first film that presented space travel and the concept of the multistage rocket to a wide audience.

When Professor Mannfeldt discovers there is gold on the moon he builds a rocket to get there. However, power struggles soon develop among the crew due to the value of the gold. The American Timothy Brock composed new music for this story from Fritz Lang’s silent film Die Frau im Mond (1929). On this occasion he also wields the conductor’s baton, skilfully leading the Brussels Philharmonic, who are themselves accustomed to the accompaniment of silent films.