The Rocket, which has had one of the most enthusiastic reactions following its first screening on October 20 as part of the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival (MFF), is being tipped to be the best film, according to both cine-goers and some of the jury members.
It has already won best first feature award and the Crystal Bear at the Berlinale in Germany, best narrative feature at Robert de Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York and numerous audience awards at festivals around the world, including Sydney and Melbourne. It is also Australia’s official entry for best foreign language film at the 86th Academy Awards. It will be screened again in Mumbai on October 24 as part of the MFF’s international competition section.
Director of the film, Kim Mordaunt said, “I’m delighted by the response of the Indian audience at the MFF premiere of The Rocket. I’ve always believed that it’d resonate with audiences around the world and Mumbai’s reaction just confirms this.
“My mother was Indian-Mauritian and I’ve many Indian family members so it is special for me to screen at the MFF,” Mordaunt added.
Sylvia Wilczynski, producer and Mordaunt’s wife, said, “It’s been such a joy to come to Mumbai. It’s an amazing and vibrant city with a terrific film tradition. Seeing Indian audience respond so strongly to The Rocket and then meeting them felt special.”
Set amidst a beautiful landscape and with lovely performances by the young actors, The Rocket is a heartwarming coming-of-age tale about Ahlo, the surviving twin of a difficult birth, who is considered by some to be a source of bad luck.
When 10-year-old Ahlo and his family are displaced by the construction of a dam, further tragedy strikes. Ahlo befriends young Kia and her eccentric uncle Purple in their new village, but rumours of his bad luck continue in the new community and begin to spread among his own family members. Ahlo decides that his only hope for redemption is the Rocket Festival, a riotous and dangerous, annual competition where huge bamboo rockets are set off to provoke the rain gods.
Despite being too young to enter the competition, Ahlo is determined to succeed.
The Rocket is one of the first feature films for international release set and shot in Laos. With access to real rituals and festivities in the stunning mountains of Laos, The Rocket is a unique view into a world rarely seen on film.
“I’m delighted to see a top quality, world-class Australian film at the MFF. That’s a tribute to both our film industry and this exciting and dynamic festival,” said Australia’s consul-general in Mumbai, Mark Pierce.
Ilo Ilo, a Singaporean film by Anthony Chen, and Fandry, a Marathi film by Nagraj Manjule, are also in the reckoning as favourites in the international competition.
The Rocket will screen on Oct 24, on Screen 3, Cinemax Versova at 3.30pm
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