The autumn season on the international film-festival circuit has welcomed a raft of Czech minority co-productions, including Jan P Matuszyński’s docudrama Leave No Traces [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jan P. Matuszyński
scheda film], Peter Kerekes’ first foray into fiction filmmaking, 107 Mothers [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Peter Kerekes
scheda film], Bogdan George Apetri’s crime-drama Miracle [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bogdan George Apetri
scheda film], Federica di Giacomo’s art film The Palace [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Federica Di Giacomo
scheda film], Aga Woszczyńska’s debut feature, Silent Land [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Aga Woszczyńska
scheda film], and Emanuel Pârvu’s Mikado [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emanuel Pârvu
scheda film]. Czech producers have progressively been extending the geographical scope of their collaborations, and the new projects in the pipeline include the first co-production with Israel, a variation on Věra Chytilová’s cult film Daisies [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] to be directed by Hong Kongese filmmaker Jenny Suen, plus three projects from Myanmar. The latest project in the string of Czech minority co-productions being world-premiered at festivals is Augusto Sandino’s sophomore feature, A Vanishing Fog [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Augusto Sandino
scheda film], which will bow in the main competition of the upcoming edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (see the news).

The Colombian filmmaker is returning to the Estonian gathering after winning the Special Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Award there for his debut, Gentle Breath, in 2016. The Colombian-Czech-Norwegian mystery-drama A Vanishing Fog was written, directed and produced by Sandino himself, and it is the first film to be shot in the Sumapaz Páramo (the world’s largest alpine tundra ecosystem and a source of drinking water for Bogotá’s 11 million residents), between 3,200 and 4,500 metres above sea level. “We reached places that were very difficult to access, and which had never been photographed before. It is not only a place surrounded by mystery and superb beauty; it is also an area that has suffered at first hand all of the tragedies of Colombian history,” explains the director. The protagonist, a mountain guard, F, played by non-professional actor Sebastian Pii, is defending Sumapaz with his ailing father and other natives. “Facing the imminent return of violence and overcoming his human limitations, F has been preparing his escape, but before seeking out a new dimension, he will have to endure a heart-rending farewell,” reveals the film synopsis.

A Vanishing Fog is described as a combination of magical realism, sci-fi mystery and environmental social drama, which deals with the motifs of the passing of time, loneliness and alienation. In addition to Sandino’s production outfit, Schweizen Media Group, and Norwegian company Perspektiv Produksjon, Prague-based independent post-production studio Magic Lab is co-producing the mystical venture. Furthermore, Magic Lab’s CEO and VFX supervisor, Michal Křeček, is credited as being responsible for the film’s visual effects.

Magic Lab has recently been involved in Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man, for which the studio created all 435 of the visual effects. Besides working on commercial fare such as Aladdin and another Guy Ritchie film, The Gentlemen, Magic Lab regularly collaborates on domestic projects, some recent examples being Bird Atlas [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Olmo Omerzu
scheda film], Charlatan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Agnieszka Holland
scheda film] and Petr Václav’s forthcoming ambitious historical biopic Il Boemo [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Petr Vaclav
scheda film].

A Vanishing Fog is being produced by Augusto Sandino for Schweizen Media Group, and co-produced by Michal Křeček for Magic Lab and Emil Nygard Olsen, of Perspektiv Produksjon. Pluto Film Distribution handles the world sales.