A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS
by Simon Lereng Wilmont
SYNOPSIS
In this poignant and deeply intimate documentary three kids temporarily removed from their parents find friendship and flickers of hope inside the worn walls of a remarkable orphanage in Eastern Ukraine, as a group of dedicated social workers create moments of joy and respite from childhoods all but lost.
DETAILS
87 min
2022
Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine
Ukrainian, Russian
TRAILER
CREDITS
Directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont
Produced by Monica Hellström – Final Cut for Real
Co-Produced by Sami Jahnukainen – Donkey Hotel, Tobias Janson – STORY, Darya Bassel – Vika Khomenko, Moon Man
In coproduction with MDR/Arte
In association with BBC Storyville
With the support of DR, SVT, Yle, Vpro, RUV, RTV Slovenia, VRT, RTS, VGTV, ERR
Supported by Danish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, Nordic Film & TV Fond, Ukrainian State Film Agency, Creative Europe: TV Programming, IMS
Cinematography by Simon Lereng Wilmont
Line Producer & Assistant Director: Azad Safarov
Editor: Michael Aaglund
Sound Design: Heikki Kossi, Pietu Korhorhonen, Peter Albrectsen, Sune Kaarsberg
Composer: Uno Helmersson
BIOGRAPHY
DIRECTOR - SIMON LERENG WILMONT
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Simon graduated as a Documentary Film Director from The National Film School of Denmark in 2009. His first feature documentary film The Distant Barking of Dogs (2017), premiered at IDFA, and was awarded Best First Appearance. It has since gone on to win 35+ awards worldwide, among them the McBaine Documentary Feature Award at San Francisco’s SFFILM Festival, it was nominated for a European Film Award (2018), an Emmy (2020), and shortlisted for an Academy Award (2019). The film also won a Peabody Award (2020). As a director, his films include Dormitory Master (2009), Above Ground, Beneath the Sky (2008), Chikara – The Sumo Wrestler’s Son (2013) and The Fencing Champion (2014).
PRODUCER - MONICA HELLSTROM
Monica Hellström is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was selected for Producer on the Move, Cannes 2020 and was awarded the prestigious ‘Ib award’ by the Danish Board of Film Directors in 2022. She started her company Ström Pictures in May 2022 and has before that been a producer at Final Cut for Real since 2010 and previously worked at Upfront Films and The Danish Film Institute's Film Workshop. She graduated from EAVE Producer Workshop in 2010, holds an MA in film from the University of Copenhagen (DK) and a BA in film from the University of Bedfordshire (UK).
SELECT FESTIVALS
SUNDANCE 2022 - BEST DIRECTING AWARD〡GOTEBORG 2022 - BEST NORDIC DOC AWARD〡THESSALONIKI 2022 - BEST INT'L DOC & FIPRESCI AWARDS〡CPH:DOX 2022 - POLITIKEN:DOX AWARD〡MAKEDOX 2022 - MORAL APPROACH AWARD〡ZAGREBDOX 2022 - HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD〡NORDISK PANORAMA 2022 - AUDIENCE AWARD〡VISIONS DU REEL 2022〡SYDNEY FF 2022〡HOTDOCS 2022〡DOCAVIV 2022〡AMBULANTE 2022〡AJB DOC 2022〡ROME FILM FEST - ALICE NELLA CITTA 2022〡BERGEN IFF 2022〡SEMINCI VALLADOLID 2022〡SINGAPORE IFF 2022〡DOC NYC 2022〡IDFA 2022
PRESS
"Extraordinary access... Thrilling... It's as if a Frederick Wiseman film had been reimagined by William Blake."
- A.O. Scott, New York Times
"Exquisitely intimate"
- Guy Lodge, Variety
"Extraordinary"
- Jack Seale, The Guardian
"The trust Wilmont – who acted as his own cinematographer – builds with the children is nothing short of remarkable. Every minute we spend with them feels unguarded and natural, whether it’s the look of quiet resignation when a mother fails to pick up the phone or the almost magical joyous immediacy of a sparkler in the dark."
- Amber Wilkinson, Screen Daily
"This is a delicately observed film that affords its subjects empathy and respect."
- Pat Mullen, POV Magazine