Danish sales firm LevelK has picked up international sales duties on “The Rocket,” an Australian-made film set in Laos. It is set for its world premiere in the Generations section of the Berlin Film Festival in Feb 2013, reports Film Business Asia.
The plot revolves around a boy who fears he is cursed because his tribe is convinced twins bring bad luck. To try to disprove that belief, the boy leads his family across war-torn Laos and sets out to build a giant rocket to compete in the lucrative but dangerous Rocket Festival.
Filmed in Laos and Thailand, The Rocket brings to light Laos’ troubled past, with references to the US bombardment during the Vietnam conflict and the continuing effect those bombs still have on the lives of the Lao people.
It was written and directed by first time feature film director Kim Mordaunt, and produced by Sylvia Wilczynski for Red Lamp Films Australia in collaboration with Lao associate producer Pauline Phayvanh Phoumindr. Financing of The Rocket was supported by Screen Australia, Screen New South Wales and Curious Film, which will handle Australian distribution.
