Scottsdale-based filmmaker Larry L. Sheffield is returning home to the big screen with his newest documentary “The Cosmic Trigger,” which will run Sept. 11–17 at the Harkin Shea 14 Theater, located at 7354 E. Shea Blvd.
The theatrical run marks Sheffield’s third partnership with the theater, following his successful 2024 runs of Oppenheimer After Trinity and The Atomic Rocketeer, according to a press release.
Continuing Sheffield’s exploration of the Southwest’s atomic past, “The Cosmic Trigger” is a 2026 documentary film directed with Trent J. Di Giulio that investigates the surge of unexplained aerial phenomena over New Mexico immediately following the 1945 Trinity atomic test. Drawing on never-before-seen footage, documents from historic archives, declassified military records, expert analysis and historical accounts, the film takes a fact-based look at a question that has long fueled speculation: Did the dawn of the nuclear age act as a “cosmic wake-up call” to observers beyond Earth?
