Each June, lucky Washingtonians get to see some of the world's best documentaries at the Silver Docs festival in Silver Spring, Md. Here's a roundup of some of this year's films that touch on themes near to the heart of Natty Geo. If you're not a DC-area resident, we're including links to other showings or additional information on these documentaries.

In a nutshell: For rich Westerners, $20 million is a small price to pay for the chance to spend eight days on the International Space Station—after rigorous physical training in a remote and aging facility in the former Soviet nation of Kazakhstan. This documentary from Swiss director Christian Frei looks at how the rich cope with such indignities as space food — perch in jelly and beef goulash, served in cans like Fancy Feast – and also at the impact space travel has on the Kazakhs, who harvest and sell scrap metal from used rocket parts.

? Scene you can't sleep through: ??The first female space tourist demonstrates how to brush your teeth, wash your hair, and use the bathroom while spinning like a top in zero-G. The space toilet has something resembling a vacuum cleaner attachment.

Food for thought: "The scrap metal dealers sell the rocket pieces to China, where they make aluminum foil out of it. So in a globalized world, you might be wrapping your sandwich in an old spaceship." —Victoria Jaggard

On Coal River