The story of a solar-powered plane that travelled around the world

Point of No Return is the behind the scenes documentary of the world's first solar-powered flight around the world.

The film is headed to New Zealand for its Australasian Premiere at the DocEdge film festival in Wellington and Auckland 18-27 May.

The film gives a gripping behind the scenes look at what it took for two pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, and their team of engineers, meteorologists, and flight specialists to accomplish a remarkable feat, circumnavigate the earth in their hand built, experimental solar aeroplane, without a drop of fuel. 

As they face numerous setbacks along the way, they push themselves and the technology to their limits, driven by perseverance and a dream for a more sustainable future.

As light as a family car, with the wingspan of a 747, the Solar Impulse is a marvel of aeronautical engineering.

Its delicatecould snap in two, its custom tech could fail mid-flight, its batteries could die in cloud cover or darkness.

A thousand miscalculations could ground Solar Impulse before it reaches its goal.

But for the team behind this aircraft, the message and the hope it carries to a world facing an environmental crisis was well worth the risk.

The film was created by Noel Dockstader and Quinn Kanaly.

Creative partners for over a decade, filmmakers Noel Dockstader and Quinn Kanaly tell thought-provoking, impactful stories about science, history and exploration.

When they learned of Solar Impulse's zero-fuel flight, they knew it had the potential to be one of the most important pioneering adventures of modern times, and they felt compelled to capture it.

Over 10 months, Noel and Quinn found themselves on opposite sides of the world, tracking the unfolding drama both on the tarmac and at mission control, connected only by their cell phones and a shared vision for Point of No Return.

You can watch the trailer here: