All the Invisible Children is the brainchild of Producer Chiara Tilesi. Together with Stefano Veneruso, her producing partner of MK Film Productions, they firmly believed in the realization of this film composed of seven segments directed by authoritative directors. The film makers narrate, through their own personal perspective, unique stories about the children’s condition in their part of the world.
Considering the complexity and actual aim of the project, the producers felt the need to involve different personalities and institutions. All the Invisible Children has actually been produced by Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Chiara Tilesi and Stefano Veneruso for MK Film Productions, in conjunction with associate producers Gaetano Daniele, Anna Rita Dell’Atte, Cesare Falletti di Villa Falletto and Andrea Piedimonte. Moreover, the film has been co-produced by Rai Cinema and distributed in Italy by 01 Distribution.
Following, is an apercu of the directors who realized this extraordinary film and a glimpse of their work:
MEHDI CHAREF’s troubling story Tanza is named after its hero, a twelve-year-old boy who joins an army of freedom fighters; EMIR KUSTURICA’s uplifting segment tells the heartbreaking tale of a young gypsy boy; SPIKE LEE’s powerful film Jesus Children of America tells of the struggle of a Brooklyn teenager who realizes that she is the HIV-positive daughter of drug-addicted parents; KATIA LUND’s poignant contribution entitled BILU & JOÃO , portrays a day in the life of two enterprising children struggling on the streets of São Paolo; JORDAN SCOTT and RIDLEY SCOTT have co-directed the hypnotic Jonathan, written by Jordan Scott, depicting a photojournalist whose desperate need to escape his personal torment allows him to regress back to his childhood; STEFANO VENERUSO has co-written and directed Ciro, a story about a young boy living between crime and play in the run down housing estates of Naples; and JOHN WOO’s moving film Song Song & Little Cat follows the special bond between the penniless orphan, Little Cat, and the wealthy yet troubled Song Song.
Following, is an apercu of the directors who realized this extraordinary film and a glimpse of their work:
MEHDI CHAREF’s troubling story Tanza is named after its hero, a twelve-year-old boy who joins an army of freedom fighters; EMIR KUSTURICA’s uplifting segment tells the heartbreaking tale of a young gypsy boy; SPIKE LEE’s powerful film Jesus Children of America tells of the struggle of a Brooklyn teenager who realizes that she is the HIV-positive daughter of drug-addicted parents; KATIA LUND’s poignant contribution entitled BILU & JOÃO , portrays a day in the life of two enterprising children struggling on the streets of São Paolo; JORDAN SCOTT and RIDLEY SCOTT have co-directed the hypnotic Jonathan, written by Jordan Scott, depicting a photojournalist whose desperate need to escape his personal torment allows him to regress back to his childhood; STEFANO VENERUSO has co-written and directed Ciro, a story about a young boy living between crime and play in the run down housing estates of Naples; and JOHN WOO’s moving film Song Song & Little Cat follows the special bond between the penniless orphan, Little Cat, and the wealthy yet troubled Song Song.
This unique project brings together these incredible talents from very different parts of the world to create a feature with a strong image and a powerful message.
Producer Chiara Tilesi discusses the thinking behind the project:
“The title says it all: ‘All the Invisible Children’; our aim is to bring ignored children’s issues into public awareness and consciousness, if nothing else, to make them more visible. Cinema, like music and other art forms, is a perfect medium to raise the bar of awareness, empathy, compassion and understanding. We all felt that this was an opportunity that needed to be seized. I am so glad we did, and I thank all our participants very sincerely.”
The film, which has premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2005, took over four years to make and as Chiara Tilesi explains, funding was not easy.
“Securing the finance was actually quite difficult considering the complexity and size of the project. It took four years of hard work and we knocked on many doors. However, as this film transcends the entertainment industry, we brought together several ‘worlds’. In the end though, thanks to the energy and inspiration of the directors and solid and committed production teamwork, we succeeded in securing finance. Another aspect that seems to be worth mentioning, is the one of global production organization and logistics; dealing with eight different directors in seven different countries sometimes even simultaneously, has been quite challenging for our entire team. Thanks to the quality and stature of the directors and their producers’ work though, I can say that being on every set has been for me a great professional experience and a true learning opportunity”.
Each director has been given total creative freedom, with the back up of the producers who were there to help every step of the way. Chiara explains:
“When I first thought about doing this film it was essential that each of the directors be allowed to choose their theme and have the freedom to develop their idea. It would have been absurd to try and impose themes onto them - if they are not portraying something close to their hearts, it would not have the same resonance. We discussed the main aim of the film, which was to underline those aspects of children that most of the times are invisible; and they are invisible because nobody knows about them. The only preset concept was that we were looking for stories about the plight of children from their own countries. Miraculously, all the directors came up with completely different themes.”
Producer Chiara Tilesi discusses the thinking behind the project:
“The title says it all: ‘All the Invisible Children’; our aim is to bring ignored children’s issues into public awareness and consciousness, if nothing else, to make them more visible. Cinema, like music and other art forms, is a perfect medium to raise the bar of awareness, empathy, compassion and understanding. We all felt that this was an opportunity that needed to be seized. I am so glad we did, and I thank all our participants very sincerely.”
The film, which has premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2005, took over four years to make and as Chiara Tilesi explains, funding was not easy.
“Securing the finance was actually quite difficult considering the complexity and size of the project. It took four years of hard work and we knocked on many doors. However, as this film transcends the entertainment industry, we brought together several ‘worlds’. In the end though, thanks to the energy and inspiration of the directors and solid and committed production teamwork, we succeeded in securing finance. Another aspect that seems to be worth mentioning, is the one of global production organization and logistics; dealing with eight different directors in seven different countries sometimes even simultaneously, has been quite challenging for our entire team. Thanks to the quality and stature of the directors and their producers’ work though, I can say that being on every set has been for me a great professional experience and a true learning opportunity”.
Each director has been given total creative freedom, with the back up of the producers who were there to help every step of the way. Chiara explains:
“When I first thought about doing this film it was essential that each of the directors be allowed to choose their theme and have the freedom to develop their idea. It would have been absurd to try and impose themes onto them - if they are not portraying something close to their hearts, it would not have the same resonance. We discussed the main aim of the film, which was to underline those aspects of children that most of the times are invisible; and they are invisible because nobody knows about them. The only preset concept was that we were looking for stories about the plight of children from their own countries. Miraculously, all the directors came up with completely different themes.”
