Petrus van Staden
Production
Biography
Petrus van Staden is a South African filmmaker and producer based between New York City and South Africa. In 2019 he co-founded Vanishing Elephant with Tebogo Malebogo driven by a desire to find a way to tell meaningful stories. Their shorts have screened at Locarno, SXSW, JCC, New Directors/New Films, and New York Film Festival and have won multiple awards, being distributed to spaces such as Mubi, Topic, Canal + Poland and WatchArgo. He has worked between South Africa, Tanzania and the USA - producing independent work as well as an episode for Netflix's African Folktales Reimagined Anthology series. He is passionate about diversity, collaboration, finding ways to tell and uplift marginalized stories, and exploring how to tell those stories authentically and just. Apart from the selections mentioned above, he has been part of productions selected for Sundance, IFFR, Oberhausen, and Durban - bringing professionalism and quality storytelling to everything he involves himself with.
Known For
In the desert of the Payahuunadü valley (the name means “land of flowing water”) of California, a father performs butoh for the first time in front of his former prodigy rock climber child. They speak to each other through their bodies to find a way to heal their relationship and the land.
Tamashi
While walking home from the store, a young man is prompted to help a seizing woman, and unknowingly demonstrates the danger of doing the right thing.
Mthunzi
Deceived by the promise of happiness and fulfillment in America, a Turkish immigrant housewife engages in a one-sided telephone conversation with a mysterious Turkish man, as she attempts to rediscover her identity.
Ayşegül on Tuesdays
At the end of an overdue family reunion in their ancestral land, Rain, a non-binary Chinese American discovers a family secret that launches them on a surreal odyssey to seek out the truth about their estranged father—whose disappearance is entwined with the extinction of the Yangtze River dolphin.
When the River Split Open
After Tau comes to a realization about their sexuality, it sets in motion a cascade of thoughts and emotions in Tumelo - nothing will ever be the same between them.
Heaven Reaches Down to Earth
Lesedi lives in an isolated town and spends her days throwing stones at cars passing through and hoping for something to happen. Unexpectedly, a car breaks down leading her to fear that she is responsible. Still, a transient connection is formed between Lesedi and the reluctant visitor.
The Town
The boundless joy and unabashed passion of master gelato-maker Sergio Dondoli take center stage in this exuberant tribute to the delights of food, creativity, and a life well-lived. 'Sergio Dondoli's Happy Life' chronicles the rise of Dondoli and his world-famed Tuscan gelateria. What emerges is a portrait of a man who started from the humblest beginnings yet found a way to cultivate sweetness in all its forms through his life's work.
Sergio Dondoli's Happy Life
A man's search for connection is thrown off course during an uncomfortable encounter with an old flame.
Let's Do This Again Sometime
After breaking an unknown artifact, an archeology student comes to terms with the stories we will never know.