12 Best Hidden Gem Movies Of 2016

Sitting somewhere between political thriller and black comedy, Matt Johnson’s mockumentary Operation Avalanche focuses on that good old, oft-discussed conspiracy theory about NASA faking the 1969 Moon landing.

As in Johnson’s reality-blurring debut feature The Dirties, he stars alongside his long-time friend Owen Williams as undercover CIA agents posing as a documentary film crew who are sent to NASA with the mission of exposing a Soviet mole in its midst.

Whilst on assignment, they learn that NASA is falling behind in the Space Race and propose an elaborate plan: they will fabricate footage of the Moon landing so believable that it will convince both NASA and the public that man – American man, that is – has made it to the Moon. And, most importantly, they’ll stay one step ahead of those damn Russians.

While it’s by no means the first film to explore such a theme, it’s quite possibly the most audacious considering the lengths its cast and crew went to - including duping NASA into thinking they were making a bona fide Apollo programme documentary to get filming access – to get the film made.