The UK’s Geronimo Boy Film, India’s Criss Cross Content and Southeast Asia’s Lao New Wave Cinema Production have wrapped Satu – Year Of The Rabbit, a coming-of-age drama that will be introduced to EFM buyers in Berlin next week.
The rare UK-India-Laos co-production marks the feature directorial debut of Josh Trigg, a London-based commercials director and fashion photographer. Trigg also wrote the script, which previously won best dramatic screenplay at Houston International Film Festival.
The story follows 12-year-old Satu and 17-year-old Bo, played by newcomers Itthiphone Sonepho and Vanthiva Saysana respectively. Together, they set out on a journey to find the mother of Satu, who was abandoned at a monastery when he was a baby.
The feature was shot on 16mm film over 26 days on location in the Laos capital of Vientiane, the mountains surrounding Vang Vieng, Pha Tang village and monastery, the rivers around Nong Khiaw, and Muang Ngoy, a remote village only accessible by boat.
The film is in post-production with executive producers Ishaan Chandhok and Noel Goodwin on board. Ishaan is a former exec at Applause Entertainment and a part of the team that produced the Indian adaptation of Bafta-winning BBC series Criminal Justice.
The film’s Laos producer is Lee Phongsavanh, a filmmaker whose credits include The Signal, which received its world premiere at Shanghai International Film Festival last year. Associate producer is Iyare Igiehon, a creative diversity partner at the BBC who also runs S.O.U.L, a London-based initiative supporting ethnic communities in the UK film and TV industries.
Satu – Year Of The Rabbit was financed through private equity investors and co-produced with Criss Cross Content and Lao New Wave Cinema Production, which serviced and facilitated the production on the ground after helping with development and a three-month casting process. The entire cast are non-professionals.
Trigg brought with him James Chegwyn from the UK as his director of photography, and Emanuele Costantini to work on sound, but the remainder of the crew were locals. The filmmaker had previously collaborated with Laos New Wave on his commercials work and used the same crew to make the feature.
“I made some documentaries out in Laos in 2019, and I fell in love with the people and the locations,” said Trigg.
“I have a lot of respect for the sibling-esque relationship people have there. They look after each other. That also fed into the story of the film. I’m hoping children who relate to the feeling of not knowing where they’re from will feel empowered by Satu’s journey.”
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