The Rocket

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Showing: SUNDAY 15th March 2015 at tbc

Released: 10th February 2013 (Berlin)Film Notes

14th March 2014 (UK)

 

Sponsored by:   LFS Member

 

Certificate 12 AFlag of AustraliaFlag of LaosFlag of ThailandAustralia/Laos/Thailand – 96 mins – Drama

 

 

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Director: Kim Mourdant

Stars: Sitthiphon Disamoe, Loungnam Kaosainam, Suthep Po-ngam (สุเทพ โพธิ์งาม)

 

Laos: A ten year old boy, Ahlo, who is believed to bring bad luck, is blamed for a string of disasters. When his family loses their home and are forced to move, Ahlo meets the spirited orphan Kia and her eccentric uncle Purple: an ex-soldier with a purple suit, a rice-wine habit and a fetish for James Brown. Struggling to hang on to his father’s trust, Ahlo leads his family, Purple and Kia through a land scarred by war in search of a new home. In a last plea to try and prove he’s not cursed, Ahlo builds a giant explosive rocket to enter the most lucrative but dangerous competition of the year: the Rocket Festival. As the most bombed country in the world shoots back at the sky, a boy will reach to the heavens for forgiveness. Gripping yet heart-warming, The Rocket is a deeply personal story about the determination of a boy who has the odds stacked against him, set against the epic backdrop of a war-ravaged country on the brink of huge change. With remarkable access to real rituals and festivities in the stunning mountains of Laos, The Rocket is a unique view into a world never seen on film before. Written and directed by Kim Mordaunt (Bomb Harvest), The Rocket features an extraordinary leading performance from gutsy former street kid Sitthiphon Disamoe as Ahlo, and veteran actor and comedian Thep Phongam as the damaged but humorous Purple, an ex-soldier who becomes mentor to the young protagonist.

 

FILM FESTIVALS

AFI Fest (Won – Audience Award for Best International Feature Film 2013), Australasian Performing Rights Association (Won – APRA Music Award for Feature Film Score of the Year 2013), Australian Film Institute (Won – Best Original Screenplay 2014)(11 nominations – Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Music Score, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress 2014), Australian Screen Editors (Won – Avid Award for Best Editing on a Feature Film 2013), Australian Writers’ Guild (Won – Feature Film – Original 2013), Berlin International Film Festival (Won – Amnesty International Film Prize 2013)(Won – Best Debut Film 2013)(Won – Crystal Bear for Generation Kplus – Best Film 2013), Buster International Children’s Film Festival (Won – Children’s Jury Awards for Nordic Film Foundation’s Best Child Actor 2013)(Won – International Jury Awards for Danish Film Directors Best Film for Children 2013), Calgary International Film Festival (Won – People’s Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature 2013), Cinekid (Won – Audience Award for Children’s Jury Award Best Film 2013)(Won – Cinekid International Lion Jury Award for Best International Children’s Film 2013), Cinemanila International Film Festival (Nominated – Lino Brocka Award for International Competition 2013), Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards (3 wins – Best Film, Best Performance by a Young Actor and Best Music 2014)(5 nominations – Best Director, Best Performance by a Young Actor, Best Script, Best Cinematography and Best Editing 2014), Leeds International Film Festival (Won – Audience Award for Best Feature 2013), Melbourne International Film Festival (Won – Most Popular Feature Film 2013), Mumbai Film Festival (Won – Silver Gateway of India for Best Work, Camera 2013), Sydney Film Festival (Won – Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature 2013)(Nominated – Official Competition Award for Best Film 2013), São Paulo International Film Festival (Nominated – International Jury Award for Best Feature Film 2013), Tribeca Film Festival (Won – Audience Award for Narrative 2013)(Won – Best Actor 2013)(Won – Best Narrative Feature 2013)

 

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