When Sally Ride died in 2012, she was praised as the first American woman in space, but there was much more to the story. Her obituaries let the world know a secret she had long held, that she and a woman named Tam O’Shaughnessy had been life partners for 27 years. Those same obituaries often ignored or minimized the jaw-dropping sexism Ride faced when she entered the first class of NASA astronauts to include women in 1978.

In the richly detailed Sally, Cristina Costantini reveals both personal and professional aspects of Ride’s life, showing how they were intertwined. With O’Shaughnessy as the central narrator, the documentary includes eye-opening interviews with family members and former astronauts and archival video of Ride herself, to create an engaging, socially relevant portrait of an American heroine and of the culture.

It also displays a refreshing and rare quality for a documentary with such access: Without for a minute undermining Ride’s importance, this clear-eyed film doesn’t sugarcoat her sometimes prickly personality.

Although Sally has already won the Alfred P. Sloan prize for a science-themed movie, announced in advance of its Sundance Film Festival premiere, it doesn’t dwell on the details of space travel. (Costantini previously won the Festival Favorite Award in 2018 for Science Fair, co-directed with Darren Foster.) With a wealth of period video footage, the movie emphasizes the frequently condescending attention Ride and the five other women in her NASA class encountered.

Costantini’s astute choice of clips shines a light on the culture at the time in all its sexism and homophobia. As Ride says, “The only bad moments in our training involved the press.” Kathy Sullivan, who was in Ride’s training class, describes the press posing stereotypical questions about romance, makeup and family to the the groundbreaking women astronauts.

Ride had no patience for such silly questions. Sitting alongside male astronauts at a press conference, she is asked if she plans to be the first mother in space. She just shakes her head and laughs. A female reporter’s voice inquires from offscreen, “Do you think that you are as good as any male astronaut here?” On camera, when a reporter refers to her Miss Ride, she replies that he can address her as either Dr. Ride or Sally, but not “Miss.” And behind the scenes, NASA had no idea what personal hygiene items to pack for a woman in space. “NASA engineers, in their infinite wisdom, designed a makeup kit,” Ride remarks. They also asked her how many tampons she might need for a one-week flight: Would 100 be enough?

John Fabian, another classmate, remembers Ride as unemotional and hard to read, recounting, “Her personality was all business.” Part of that demeanor came naturally and part of it was because she was so closeted. Sally goes a long way toward explaining both. In 1981, while Ride was in the training program, Billie Jean King was sued by a female ex-lover for financial support. Both King, who lost endorsements and had to play huge legal fees, and Ride’s sister, Bear Ride, suggest that King’s experience was a cautionary tale for Ride: She saw that she would pay a huge professional price if she were open about her sexuality.

She was often emotionally closed off in her private life, too. O’Shaughnessy’s comments about Ride are endlessly loving, but even she states, “Some of the very characteristics that made her the woman who could break the highest glass ceiling made her tough to be in a relationship with.” Whether sitting in a chair on an otherwise empty set talking to the camera, or in her house looking at letters and gifts from Sally, O’Shaughnessy is a steady presence, warm but unsentimental as she shares that she was heart-broken that Ride refused to go public with their relationship. Her enduring love gives the film its visceral emotional impact.

Some of Costantini’s most revealing interviews are with those who knew Ride best, as when O’Shaughnessy and Bear Ride discuss the buttoned-down family dynamics Sally grew up with. Ride’s mother, interviewed here, is asked if she knew that Sally and Tam were a couple. “Yes but it wasn’t something we talked about,” she responds curtly. Bear Ride relays that Tam was part of their family, but that Sally never spoke about the partnership, even though Bear herself is gay and out.

Ride was secretive as well with her ex-husband, Steve Hawley, another astronaut in her class whom she married during their training. He affirms that they both went into the marriage “in good faith,” and that up until the time she left five years later, “I suspected but I didn’t know” she was gay. Sullivan recalls that when she heard about the wedding, “One of my first thoughts was, great PR move.”

It was only when Ride was dying of pancreatic cancer that she was able to admit publicly that O’Shaughnessy was her partner. O’Shaughnessy notes that she talked to Ride about what to say about their relationship and Ride left it up to her, so she wrote an obituary acknowledging it.

It’s too bad that that film is marred by visual reenactments throughout. When O’Shaughnessy talks about an intimate dinner, we see two women in a kitchen dining by candlelight. Near the end, there is even a Sally stand-in a hospital bed. There is no dialogue in any of these scenes so they avoid the worst cheesy excesses, but they are distracting and unnecessary.

Sally stands perfectly well without any fussy touches, as an important addition to the record of what we know about a pioneering cultural figure — in all her complexity, ambition and guardedness.

Rihanna made her first appearance in court during ASAP Rocky’s assault trial Wednesday, with the singer seated in the gallery as the downtown Los Angeles court heard key testimony about an alleged shooting that could send her rap star partner to prison for nearly 20 years.

On the witness stand was Terell Ephron, a.k.a. ASAP Relli, a co-founder of ASAP Mob, the Harlem rap collective that helped launch Rocky’s career. Ephron testified that he met up with Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, in Hollywood on Nov. 6, 2021, in the hopes of fixing their broken friendship.

Ephron said the two had drifted apart as Mayers’ star rose and the other members of the crew struggled to find success. Aside from Mayers, most members of the ASAP crew are now “broke or bums,” Ephron previously testified.

“I call him Mr. Six Month Man, cause I’d see him once every six months … when he’d come around, he was fake. What are we supposed to be in this ASAP thing for?” Ephron asked. “It was all smoke and mirrors.”

Tensions between the two were high that night, Ephron testified, after he overheard Mayers insulting him on a phone call the day before. Ephron also erroneously believed Mayers had reneged on a promise to pay for the funeral of an ASAP collective member who had died of an overdose.

Ephron said he was hoping to squash the beef with Mayers when they met near the W Hotel on the night of the shooting, but Mayers showed up with two other members of the ASAP crew and immediately sparked a confrontation.

“It was all like a movie … just the way he was walking … the whole thing caught me off guard, like there was no time to talk,” Ephron said.

Prosecutors have accused Mayers of shooting at Ephron, who suffered a graze wound on his hand.

Mayers is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and faces a sentencing enhancement for using a gun in the alleged crime. Mayers has pleaded not guilty, with lawyers claiming the gun used in the encounter was a music video prop incapable of firing real bullets.

When Mayers arrived for court around 9:45 a.m., he was flanked by his usual entourage and mobbed by media, but his paramour was nowhere in sight. Rihanna’s presence in court wasn’t confirmed until a little after 10 a.m., when she was spotted by reporters sitting among Mayers’ family dressed in a black pea coat and sporting glasses.

The “Umbrella” singer could be seen watching Ephron’s testimony intently. She is not a witness in the case, though her relationship to Mayers came up during jury selection. L.A. County Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold made no mention of her presence, and it was not clear if jurors were aware she was in court.

Her representatives have not responded to prior requests for comments on the case.

There is video of the confrontation between Mayers and Ephron, but it does not show the full incident.

One clip shows a man in a hooded sweatshirt, who prosecutors and Ephron say is Mayers, grabbing Ephron around the head and neck, then pulling a gun from his waistband. Another shows the shooting from a distance but doesn’t clearly show anyone’s face, though it does capture audio of two loud pops that sound like gunshots.

Mayers’ defense attorney Joe Tacopina — who is likely to begin cross-examining Ephron on Thursday — has said the weapon was a “prop gun” that only fired blanks.

Ephron said Mayers pointed a gun at his head, face and chest as the two had a screaming match. Ephron insisted he had no intention for things to turn violent, claiming he didn’t want to hurt his old friend or tank his career in the music industry.

“If I fight Rocky … I’m already not liked … so if I’m fighting him I’m definitely getting blackballed. All the labels like him and work with him,” Ephron said.

The clash was interrupted when a couple walked by, according to Ephron. But just as things seemed to be settling down, Ephron said he saw one of the men Mayers brought with him — Jamel Phillips, a.k.a. ASAP 12vvy — putting away a knife. At that point, Ephron said, he felt betrayed and furious.

“I’m like, oh, hell no. So now I’m walking with them and I’m literally screaming out at the top of my lungs … how Rocky failed us, and how Jamel went on tour with Rocky for 8 or 9 years and he’s back in the projects,” Ephron said. “I knew I would never see this dude again … I probably would have walked away if I hadn’t seen the knife.”

4/5 stars

Forces of good and evil from the human world and the spirit realm go head to head in Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force, the second chapter in Wuershan’s spectacular adaptation of the 16th century Chinese fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods.

This time out, the action focuses on the Shang army’s siege of Xiqi City, as the evil Lord Yin Shou (Kris Phillips) continues his quest to become ruler of the entire kingdom.

A magical scroll infused with the power of the gods, known as the Fengshen Bang, is also up for grabs, and a multitude of warriors, immortals and mythical beasts duke it out in order to wield its power.

But the ageing Yin’s strength is now waning despite the help he is getting from a seductive fox spirit (Naran) and the dark sorcery of three-eyed Wen Zhong (Wu Hsing-kuo).