Wishing on a Star
Date:
January 12, 2023
Wishing on a Star
Looking for financing for sound-post production and festivals
Logline
Luciana, a Neapolitan astrologer, promises her clients a method to
make their wishes come true. All they need to do is take a birthday
trip to a certain destination to be reborn under a new sky.
Whether it’s Taipei, Beirut, or a nearby village, during these birthday journeys, the protagonists discover what they really desire. It’s a bittersweet exploration of the struggles we all face in our quest for life change.
Synopsis
In an old castle in the Italian countryside, Luciana, a sixty-years old
astrologer, reveals to her clients an easy way to make their wishes
come true: all they need to do is to go to a specific place on their
birthday.
Barbara, a grumpy psychiatric nurse, is sent to Taiwan to release some of the tension built up with her father.
Giovanni, a practical funeral agent, has to leave his quiet life in San Daniele del Friuli, known for its delicious prosciutto, to spend his birthday on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. According to Luciana’s calculations, this is the only way for him to ensure a successor for his family business. Inseparable twins Adriana and Giuliana seize the chance to metaphorically cut their umbilical cord with a birthday trip to Beirut, while eighty-year-old Alessandra is sent by the astrologer on a turbulent winter adventure on a Croatian island for finding true love.
Whether close or far away, these birthday trips offer unexpected
transformations to the characters and help them discover what
they really desire.
Told with the humorous style of Slovak director Peter Kerekes, “Wishing on a star” is a bittersweet exploration of the struggles we all face in our quest for a better life.
Director’s Profile
Born in 1973, Košice, Slovakia, Peter Kerekes has directed many
award winning documentaries. Although he initially wanted to direct fiction films, his first documentary about the Slovak poet Erik
Groch swayed his interest towards this form of film expression.
His latest film, ‘107 Mothers’, premiered at the Venice Film Festival
in 2021 where it was awarded the Best Screenplay award.
The film was the Oscar candidate for Slovak Republic and was among the finalists in the 2022 European Film Awards “New discoveries” Section. At present, is was selected at sixty international film festivals. Peter Kerekes is teaching at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and at the DocNomads – joint masters in Budapest, Lisbon and Brussels.
Director’s previous work: 107 Mothers
Company Profile
Videomante, set up in 2004, is a production company focusing on
creative documentaries for the international market.
Its productions include “Valentino’s Gift” by Pier Paolo Giarolo (2012), “The Special Need”, by Carlo Zoratti, 2013 (premiere at Locarno Film Festival, awarded with the Golden Dove at DOK Leipzig, screened at more than 60 festivals including IDFA, CPH-DOX, Hot Docs Toronto, SXSW (Audience Award)). “The Good Life” by Niccolò Ammaniti (2014), “From Cremona to Cremona”, directed by Maria Averina (2016, co-production with the Bulgarian company Agitprop, “Best documentary award” at the Bulgarian Film Academy Awards), “La Villa” by Claudia Brignone (2019, premiered at Alice nella Città – Rome Film Fest). Beside the documentary “Wishing on a star” by Peter Kerekes, Videomante is producing “Fiume o Morte!” by the Croatian director Igor Bezinovic with the production companies Restart and Nosorogi.