Wishing on a Star
by Peter Kerkes
Luciana, a Neapolitan astrologer, has a method to make her clients’ wishes come true. All they need to do is take a trip on their birthday to a precise destination to be reborn under a new sky. Whether it’s Taipei, Beirut, or a nearby village, during these birthday journeys, the protagonists will go through unexpected transformations to help them discover what they truly desire.
We had almost finished the film “Wishing on a Star” with a closed structure. Before the final credits, I asked RCS for a consultation, I thought we would just tweak a few details. RCS watched the film and said, “It’s a good film, but I am sure you can make it better!” And so began a six-month adventure in which we made several different versions of the film.
It was intellectual fun, I enjoyed the feedback from each version, and when we started cutting, the editor and I were like little kids when they got new LEGOs.The film is traveling on festivals now and I am happy to hear the audience laugh in the same spots, that Iikka and Per suggested.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EAT
by Anna María Björnsdóttir and Tumi Bjartur Valdimarsson
Anna María’s world takes an unexpected turn when she crosses paths with Jesper, a
son of organic Danish farmers. Together, Anna and Jesper relocate to Iceland with their
children, only to discover a stark disparity in the availability of organic products
compared to Denmark. Anna María, a vocal artist and teacher, and a mother of three
goes on a journey, inspired by motherhood to learn about organic farming in Iceland.
“We got a lot out of working rough cut service for our documentary film. They got really helpful comments and suggestions on how we could restructure our film which made a big difference for the final outcome. They helped us to see how we could strengthen the core of our story. They were good to work with, invested and genuinely interested in helping us make our film better.
One critical comment: the written comments were sometimes hard to understand and needed a better explanation.”
FEAST OF THE WOLF
by Jadran Boban, produced by Hulahop Film & Art Production
The wolf attacks increase in the hinterland near the popular tourist destinations on the Adriatic Sea, the local population has no doubt – it’s the state and the EU who conspire to dispel the local population.
“After months of editing a documentary film, there is a moment when the director, editor, and producer do not understand each other in what the film could and should be.
Then you call RCS.
Experienced, knowledgable, with a lot of respect for people and passion for films, they take you out of the labyrinth.”
Producer Dana Budisavljevic
Dear Lara
by Lara St.John
produced by Patrick Hamm
Spearheaded by violinist Lara St. John, Dear Lara opens with her own experience of being raped at the age of 14 at the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, which she made public in 2019. The film goes on to present the parallel stories of many others, as Lara speaks at length with other survivors from around the world. It sheds light on horrific occurrences at institutions like Chetham’s School in northern England, the Amsterdam Conservatory, North Carolina School of the Arts, Toronto’s Royal Conservatory, and L.A.’s elite Colburn School, as well as stories from musicians at major orchestras. The project unearths a pattern of severe misogyny and male entitlement afflicting children and women at every stage of their musical and personal lives. And in every case, the men have benefited from the complicity of the institutions they work for.
Birdlife
by Heimir Freyr Hlöðversson
produced by Heather Millard, Þórður Jónsson
Synopsis
A documentary following Iceland’s first professional bird photographer, Jóhann Óli Hilmarsson, a unique visionary who has dedicated his life to birds and nature conservation.
https://mubi.com/en/fi/films/birdlife
The Labor of Pain and Joy
by Karoliina Gröndahl
produced by Kirsi Mattila
The birth experience affects the whole life. Two Finnish birth experts, midwife Kirsi and doula (birth support person) Anna-Riitta, work to improve birth practices and empower birth givers. Observational yet strongly cinematic, The Labour of Pain and Joy explores the personal, social and mythic levels of birth.
A Song Of Love
by Hogir Hirori
produced by Antonio Russo Merenda, Hogir Hirori
An intimate, low-key coming-of-age story about love amidst the rhythmic drums,
rituals and trance-like dances of the dervishes.
Lama´s Son
by Kesang Tseten
Lama Tsultrim, in his late 70s, is a lama of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion from a tiny village in Nepal Himalaya. He is awaiting his son’s return, to take over ritual duties that he, as a Bon Lama, must perform for Bon and Buddhist patrons in the mountain region of Mustang. The lama has been waiting for 21 years.
Where Dragons Live
By Suzanne Rae
Produced by Ilja Roomans
Suzanne Raes’ film follows the Impey family through a major transition: rifling through the contents of their childhood home in preparation to sell it, with their own children watching on. Between the clutter and the boxes, the siblings find themselves haunted by the memories of their late parents: a dragon-obsessed father and an exacting mother, and the esoteric collections of objects they left behind. Working through her award-winning documentary collective, Docmakers, filmmaker Raes (0.03 Seconde, Two Men, Close to Vermeer) carves out a disarmingly tender rumination on parent-child relationships. Giving equal weight to each sibling, balancing the light and shade of the physical and emotional spaces of their lives, Where Dragons Live also features some dazzling visuals in the way it presents this personal history.