Philippe Kastelnik
Directing
Biography
After studying film and theater, Philippe Kastelnik began making films without funding. A self-taught filmmaker, he worked as a screenwriter, assistant director, and production manager. He participated in various projects as a musician, composer, actor, and writer. For 25 years, he has written and directed feature films with very limited resources. This allows him to develop projects with a handcrafted approach that fosters freedom in narrative and aesthetic expression. He varies formats and moves from one genre to another. Following a two-year backpacking trip through Eastern Europe and Asia, he returned with two documentary films, one on Indian music and the other, a travelogue in Albania. After a trip to Cambodia, he wrote an animated short film related to the tragic history of the country, La Mangue, developed with Vertical Productions. He wrote a radio drama for France Culture, Le dernier rire de Lovely Boobs, loosely based on the life of Lolo Ferrari. His latest independent project is a feature film: Between Two Rounds, a political musical comedy about the loss of ideals. Shot in Bordeaux, the film is being screened through an alternative network. In 2019, he directed Far From Al Andalus, a musical tale about the quest for the absolute, with Chacapa Films, the support of the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image), and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. In parallel, he leads media literacy workshops, is training in screenwriting and television series writing, is pursuing theoretical research in narratology and the economics of screenwriting, participates in writing groups, and is involved in the activities of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Association of Writers and Directors (NAAIS).
Known For
A village in Cambodia. Bopha raises her son Sokhem alone. One night, guided by a strange voice, he sets off in pursuit of a magic mango. Bopha follows him and reaches the border between the world of the living and the dead. Memories of war and oppression resurface. Bopha then reveals his heavy secret.
The Mango
In Annemasse, Haute-Savoie, Lou, 25, a librarian, and Hugo, 24, a worker, meet Julie, their older sister, who left five years earlier for New York to pursue a career in theater. She returns with Nina, her baby, and adapts with difficulty to the rhythm of this small town. Hugo discovers his older sister, whose life he dreamed of, while Lou takes her return with simplicity, in the present, without asking herself any questions. Through this reunion, they realize that they have become adults, each one choosing a personal life path, each one aspiring to a different happiness than the others.
Comme il vient
Late 10th century. A traveler crosses the mountains, far from his home in Cordoba, capital of the prosperous Caliphate of Al-Andalus. He sings to his beloved. He is followed by a bird of prey. He meets a mischievous shepherd for whom he plays the oud. But the shepherd is most interested in his flute
Far From Al Andalus
April 2012, Bordeaux, presidential elections. Fred meets Slavomir, who comes from Bosnia. He is stuck with papers and is begging following an attack; Fred takes him in while he gets out of this bad situation. During this stopover Slavomir meets Fred's friends and provokes mixed reactions from them. From parties to concerts and songs to dances, Slavomir shares their evenings and discussions in these times of political excitement. A melancholic comedy around ideals in conflict with disillusionment.