The Mechanics of Things

Runtime: 90'

Expected release: February 2022

Production stage: Production

Budget: €485,000

Budget in place: 52%

Looking for: Co-producers, Funding, Pre-buys, Sales Agent

Synopsis:

After falling from the 8th floor, my cat Tito has been left paralyzed. Looking for a solution, I typed « spinal cord regeneration » on the Internet and found myself embarked on a clinical test on human patients in China… as a director to make a film, as a woman to save my cat. During this journey, other older and more intimate wounds resurfaced. I will try to fix them too.

Director’s profile:

Alessandra Celesia was born in Italy (Aosta) in 1970, and lives between Paris and Belfast.
In 2011, she directed The Bookseller of Belfast. Coproduced by ARTE, the film was shown at Visions du Réel, Lussas, Festival dei Popoli…
In 2013, Mirage à l’italienne premiered at Cinéma du Réel.
In 2017, Anatomia del miracolo, coproduced by ARTE, was selected in Locarno (Étoile de la Scam).
She has recently completed the short documentaries The Child I will be and Come il Bianco (FIDMarseille…).
She has been developing The Mechanics of Things since 2019 (When East Meets West 2021 – EWA Network Membership award).
The shooting of her forthcoming feature The Flats is planned for 2022 (Eurimages, Region Sud, Screen Ireland, CCA Brussels, Media, BFI, Northern Ireland Screen, RTBF, Scam). It won 2 awards at Pitching du Réel 2019 and was selected to the Docs Ireland Marketplace Belfast.

Producer’s profile:

Jean-Laurent Csinidis has been a film producer since 2010, when he created Films de Force Majeure, a production company based in Marseille (France) that he has been leading ever since. Over time, he specialized in cinematic author-driven documentary films and international coproduction.
As of today, he has produced or coproduced 25 films which have been shown at Cannes, Berlinale, Locarno, Venice, Visions du Réel, Cinéma du Réel… His filmography includes films like GAME GIRLS (2018, Berlinale, FIFIB Jury Grand Prize), A LAND IMAGINED (2018, Golden Leopard at Locarno), STILL RECORDING (2018, 5 awards at Venice Critics’ Week), THE LAST HILLBILLY (2020, Deauville, ACID Cannes, IDFA Jury Special Mention) or LITTLE PALESTINE, DIARY OF A SIEGE (2021, awarded at Visions du Réel).
He is a member of networks such as EAVE or Eurodoc, and is regularly involved in training and teaching activities.