Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Erica Barbiani, Peter Kerekes Fotografia / Photography: Martin Kollar Montaggio / Editing: Marek Šulík Musica / Music: Lucia Chuťková Suono / Sound: Michal Gábor Interpreti / Cast: Luciana de Leoni D’Asparedo, Valentina Angeli, Alessandra Fornasier, Barbara Lutman, Giovanni Rugo, Adriana Vangone, Giuliana Vangone Produzione / Produced by: Videomante Coproduzione / Co-produced by: Kerekesfilm, Artcam Films, Mischief Films, Restart, Volos Film, RTVS Radio and Television Slovakia In associazione con / In association with: ARTE France – La Lucarne YLE Con il sostegno di / Supported by: Fondo per l’Audiovisivo FVG, Ministero della cultura – Direzione Generale Cinema e audiovisivo, Eurimages, Slovak Audiovisual Fund, Czech Film Fund, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, FVG Film Commission, Ji.hlava / JB Films, South Moravian Film Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: Films Boutique
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. One of the projects presented at FIRST CUT+ (WEMW 2024), Wishing on a Star premiered at the Venice FF in 2024, in the “Orizzonti” section.
“My father was a film director so from the age of twelve I knew that I wanted to make films. I dreamt of creating an ‘Italian’ film filled with passionate love, strong emotions, humour, and Vespa motorcycles. However, there was a catch. I am not Italian, I don’t understand the language, and I have a melancholic Hungarian character combined with an ironic sense of humour. Despite these challenges, I decided to create a film with multiple layers of storytelling. The first layer revolves around Luciana, an astrologist from Naples, who listens to the wishes of her clients. The second layer delves into their everyday lives, sometimes in complete contradiction to what they revealed to Luciana. The third layer is based on the magical situations that occur during a birthday trip. And finally, the fourth layer, which holds everything together, focuses on Luciana’s struggles, doubts, and desires. Even she has wishes of her own. My goal was to combine the cinematic feel of a fiction film with the ability to capture real emotions from real people. Additionally, I wanted to emphasise the importance of coincidence, which plays a significant role in this film.” (P. Kerekes)
Peter Kerekes
Film director and producer Peter Kerekes was born in 1973 in Košice, now Slovakia. In 1998, he graduated in film directing from the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU). In 2003 he directed his debut feature documentary, 66 Seasons. The film captures 66 seasons, between 1936 and 2002, at the popular swimming pool of Košice, and the same number of years in the history of Central and Eastern Europe. Velvet Terrorists (2013), co-directed by Pavol Pekarčík and Ivan Ostrochovský, premiered at the Berlinale. 107 Mothers (2021) premiered at the Venice FF, where it was awarded Best Screenplay in the “Orizzonti” section. Kerekes currently teaches at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and at the DocNomads – joint masters in Budapest. The Trieste FF presented almost all his films, and in 2022 invited him to hold a Masterclass as part of the 33rd edition.
filmografia scelta / selected filmography
1994 Človek o knihe, kniha o človeku doc. cm /sf, 16mm 2003 66 sezón (66 Seasons) doc.; Premi / Awards: Jihlava IDFF – Miglior documentario dell’Europa centrale / Best Central European Documentary 2009 Ako sa varia dejiny (Cooking History) doc.; Premi / Awards: Leipzig DOK – Premio FIPRESCI / FIPRESCI Prize; Viennale – Miglior documentario / Best Documentary 2013 Zamatoví teroristi (Velvet Terrorists) diretto con / directed with Pavol Pekarčí k, Ivan Ostrochovský) doc.; Premi / Awards: Karlovy Vary IFF – Premio Fedeora / Fedeora Award 2019 Baťa, první globalista (Batastories) doc. 2021 Cenzorka (107 Mothers); Premi / Awards: Venezia, Mostra del cinema – Premio “Orizzonti” per la Migliore sceneggiatura / Venice FF – “Orizzonti” Award for Best Screenplay; Cottbus FF – Miglior film / Best Film 2024 Wishing on a Star
