The hanging sun (first feature)

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The hanging sun

original title:

The hanging sun

cast:

Alessandro Borghi, Jessica Brown Findlay, Sam Spruell, Frederick Schmidt, Raphael Vicas, Peter Mullan, Charles Dance, Lorenzo McGovern Zaini, Salóme Gunnarsdóttir, Anton Valensi, Raphael Vicas, Benjamin Noble

screenplay:

Stefano Bises, from the novel by Jo Nesbo "Midnight Sun"

cinematography:

set design:

Mikael Varhelyi

costume design:

production:

country:

Italy/UK

year:

2022

film run:

93'

format:

colour

release date:

12/09/2022

festivals & awards:

John is on the run after defying his father, a crime boss. Pursued by his brother, John heads to the far North. He comes to an isolated village, where the sun never sets, with a small community of strict religious conformists: a place that seems to belong to another era. There, he meets Lea, a woman in difficult straits, but showing great strength, and her son Caleb, a curious child with a pure heart. Lea also has her demons: the death at sea of her abusive husband Aaron. As the days go by, the three grow closer. For Lea, John is the first man able to offer her protection, but without depriving her of her freedom; and for Caleb, he is an unhoped-for father figure with whom he can share his world. John also seems to glimpse in this encounter the possibility of redemption and a new life. Inevitably, they begin to feel like a newly-formed family. With John at bay as his brother closes in, and Aaron’s brother setting his sights on Lea, the two must find a way to break the ties to their past and start over.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES:
When I first read Nesbø’s novel Midnight Sun, I was in California, and nothing could have been further from the landscapes described. Yet, I immediately felt passionate about this story of life at the very edge of the world. All the work I subsequently did on myself and consequently on the film meant a bumpy, surprising and cathartic journey, during which I became a father and learned what it means to be a son. Stefano Bises’ writing gave great power to the path, helping to solidify a romantic drama with the cement of noir. And finally, the relationship with these rare, talented actors revealed to me the magic of making cinema, a dream I always had and which has now become reality.