Laos film the rocket

A boy who is believed to bring bad luck to everyone around him leads his family and two new friends through laos to find a new home. Unexpected because the film has no stars, its protagonist is a 10yearold boy played by sitthiphon disamoe and it concerns the hopes and fears of people in the asian country squeezed between vietnam, cambodia and thailand. Authorities have banned the distribution and showing of the internationally acclaimed film, which exposes ongoing problems in laos caused by residual effects of the vietnam war and. Villages throughout laos and isaan northeast thailand celebrate this hottest time of year by firing homemade rockets bang fai skywards to bring on the rain. V eteran documentarian kim mordaunts first fulllength feature, the laos set the rocket, is by far the most exuberant film to ever open with a scene of attempted double infanticide. It was one of four films to open the 20 three rivers film festival last fall. The rocket is in the lao language, the key element that makes it eligible for the category, and is set in laos.

The film is a milestone, marking the first lao story in a feature film, set and shot in laos. The performances, from the kids in particular, are stunning and at its core the rocket is a charming film with a meaningful message under the surface. The rocket official trailer 1 20 australian drama movie hd a boy who is believed to bring bad luck to everyone around him leads his family and. Supported in their postproduction by the dutch filmfund, redline post production and musician eddy koopman, they delivered lost in laos as a 71 minute feature film in 2015.

The film is set in rural laos where its protagonist ahlo sitthiphon disamoe is given a chance to redeem himself and his broken and displaced family when they stumble upon a rocket. The rocket is the debut narrative feature for australian director mordaunt, whose 2007 documentary bomb harvest pointed out the lingering peril of the unexploded ordnance scattered all over laos. Lao movie the rocket on morning woody a boy who is believed to bring bad luck leads his family and a couple of ragged misfits through laos to find a new home. Homemade rockets soar in laos in the rocket movie trailer. The rocket australia laos thailand, 20 laos is one of several countries in east asia that are just starting to emerge as producers of cultural exports. President clinton introduces marriage equality doc bridegroom. The rocket 20 determined to disprove the common belief that he brings bad luck to everyone around him, an outcast laotian boy ahlo builds a giant rocket with the intention of participating in the lucrative but very dangerous competition at the rocket festival. In the rocket, the debut feature from documentary director kim mordaunt bomb harvest, an unlucky outcast in search of a new home enters. Throughout the rocket, the cias 1960s mysterious war spans the country side. Kim mordaunt is a well known australian director, cinematographer and actor who comes from a documentary background. But it is the intensity of mordaunts gripping, and at times heartbreaking, script that makes this a spellbinding 96. Laos movie rocket and gaymarriage documentayr bridegroom, about shane bitney crone and tom bridegroom, won the audience awards at the tribeca film festival saturday. The akha people of laos believe that giving birth to twins is bad luck.

The boy is believed to be cursed and is blamed for all that goes wrong in the family. Bomb harvest 2007 a feature length documentary was nominated for best documentary if awards, atom awards and film. Homemade rockets soar in laos in the rocket movie trailer a coming of age tale set in laos, the rocket, follows a boy on a mission he wants to. To prove that isnt the case, ahlo has a foolproof plan build a giant explosive rocket to win the annual rocket festival.

In laos, you dont have to be a scientist to build a rocket. Wilczynski hopes the film will eventually be seen in laos despite the ban. Every year before the rain season, the lao people celebrate boun bang fai or the rocket festival. Director kim mordaunt has constructed a complex portrait of lao culture, and its often difficult to believe that its coming from an outsider. He graduated from uts university of technology, sydney and got a diploma in acting from lamda london academy of music and dramatic art. Even more, you wont even need metal nor fuel to make it fly. The rocket is an australian directed film, based in laos, about a boy who appears to be cursed because he was born a twin. It won best feature film overall at 8 of those festivals, including the burbank film festival. The film is set in rural laos, and sees ahlo attempt to escape his poor circumstances by entering a rocket building contest.

Mattie do is the first woman to direct a lao feature film. Chantalay debuted at the 2012 luang prabang film festival and is the first horror film to be entirely written and directed in laos. Rocket festival or boun bang fai is a slightly offbeat buddhist festival, held during the sixth lunar month, between lao new year in midapril and the beginning of the rainy season in june. The rocket played as the theatrical headliner in 18 film festivals in 2018. The rocket is australian writerdirector kim mordaunts first feature film after a career in documentaries. Director kim mordaunts drama, about an apparently cursed 10yearold boy who wants to help his struggling family, was invited to the luang prabang film.

Set in the capital of vientiane, chantalay thinks her dead mother is sending her messages from the afterlife. Shot in beautiful laotian locations, enhanced by andrew commiss beautiful kate excellent cinematography, the rocket is a riot of colour and action. Its this months selection in the foreign film series. The rocket, an australian film, is banned in laosthe country in which the film takes place. As an australian production, it was the countrys entry for best foreign language film at the 86th academy awards but was not nominated. There have been other films that have been banned in laos and then over time have been released, she said. There is plenty of lao life and scenery and the dialogue is in lao, with english subtitles. After a calamityfilled journey through a land scarred by war, the boy builds a giant rocket to prove hes not cursed and to enter the most lucrative but dangerous competition of the year.

An analysis of the rocket australia laos thailand, 20 hailing from australia, writer and director kim mordaunt rose to fame in 20 with his first narrative feature, the rocket. Modest but sympathetic tale about laotian villagers. The lao language film has picked up awards at various festivals, including in berlin, sydney and melbourne and at the tribeca fest. Australian director kim mordaunt was a former documentarian who spent a lot of time in laos, and the film significantly benefits from someone so intimate with the country the setting is one of. Laos film the rocket fires a dream for australian film pair. Kim mordaunts the rocket is a debut fiction feature from an australian documentarymaker, set in laos. The laos film, the rocket, has emerged as one of the more unexpected successes of recent australian cinema. Making magnificent use of the laotian landscape and tribal traditions, australian director kim mordaunts the rocket is a comingofage tale infused with fantastic elements that more than. We enjoyed watching it and have shown it to several friends. A boy who is believed to bring bad luck leads his family and a couple of ragged misfits through laos to find a new home. Yes, the rocket is a sports movie, with an outcome thats easily foreseen. The cultural specifics of this laosset tale, however, are far less predictable.

Although the rocket is australian made, it is set in the southeast asian country of laos, and the film itself has the feel of a southeast asian film. This laos set film balances crowd pleasing fantasy with a rich sense of place. Laos is a communist country, and gaining access to shoot in laos, juggling delicate government protocol, whilst retaining the truth and conflict necessary for the integrity of the story, was a massive undertaking. The land is riddled with unexploded bombs serving as a. The rocket 20 film the rocket is a 20 australian drama film written and directed by kim mordaunt. With sitthiphon disamoe, loungnam kaosainam, suthep pongam, boonsri yindee. Bang pwarith mongkolpisith, micheal th eerachat jeerathavorn, noutha latsavonglao, soukjinda. Good morning, luand prabang, one of the countrys first commercial films, was released relatively recently in 2008 and depicted the nations many landscapes while chronicling the. Australian lao language film the rocket will play at northland public library on august. This sheds an odd light on the story that is depicted.

Laotianaustralian film finds a wartorn nations heart in a 10yearold boys journey to redemption. The rocket poster the film follows the story of a young boy, mali, as he grows up in northern laos. Mordaunt previously documented laos life and its minefields in bomb harvest, and he exhibits a cleareyed observation and understanding of the countrys cultural milieu that evades any sense of offensive. The rocket stars sitthiphon disamoe as ahlo and alice keohavong as mali. The rocket official trailer the rocket the rocket movie the. Winner of the audience award and best narrative feature honors at the 20 tribeca film festival, the australian family drama the rocket follows the journey of ahlo, a 10yearold laotian boy who is believed to bring misfortune on his village, in a land scarred by war. The rocket a boy who is believed to bring bad luck to everyone around him leads his family and a couple of ragged misfits through laos to find a new home. Set in the remote countryside of laos, southeast asia, the rocket is a berlin film festivalwinning journey follows ahlo, a 10yearold boy who is a supposed bringer of bad luck. After a calamity filled journey through a land scarred. The rocket official trailer directed by kim mordaunt and starring. This laos set drama about a firework competition and unexploded wartime ordnance.

This event takes place on the outskirts of vientiane and the surrounding villa. It is set entirely in northern laos, and spoken in the lao language. The land is riddled with unexploded bombs serving as a constant reminder of wars of old. Go for a bike ride, look for the elusive irrawaddy river dolphin, and take in the rapids at khone phapheng falls, the largest waterfall by volume in. Set in laos rural north, the film centres on a 10yearold peasant boy and the impact of a major dam development on his family. As the rocket s campaign for an oscar nomination gets under way, the australian film has been banned in the country it is set in laos. Voa s ray kouguell spoke with mordaunt, based in sydney, about the two young. Sydney lao language feature the rocket is australias. In the rocket, a laotian boys family faults him for the terrible circumstances they face when they are forced to relocate. The rocket is a 20 australian drama film written and directed by kim mordaunt.