THE BIRDS ARE LEAVING
Info
a film by Christina Vandekerckhove, in co-production with VAFRA
South America. The endless and virgin Savannah is home to small groups of Wapishana Indians who live isolated in the wilderness. To them, the outside world is as a far away place that can only be reached via satellite radio. This picture perfect lifestyle completely changed the day major multinationals decided to move in on the territory. To meet the ever-growing demand for biofuels they want to cultivate the virgin plains to grow crops that produce oil. In other words, this is the irony of how the Western civilisation destroys lives and ecological systems elsewhere to meet its own ecological needs.
Director
FILMOGRAPHY CHRISTINA VANDEKERCKHOVE
Master’s degree in audiovisual arts, KASK Academy Ghent, Belgium (maxima cum laude).
Christina graduated as a film professional in 2001. Ever since, she has directed several projects for the screen and for theatre, such as fictional programs and documentary films. She would like to pursue a further career as an author and documentary maker. As a young filmmaker, she has been able to reach a broad and enthusiastic audience with her assigned projects as well as her independent documentaries.
She has been in charge of screenplay, direction, filming and editing on many of her projects. Christina finds it absolutely vital to make her mark in every phase of the project. Her final project ‘Home video’ made a lasting impression. It is a particularly personal documentary portrait of her sister who suffers from cancer. The documentary won the View Point Award and received an honourable mention on Het Grote Ongeduld, two Belgian festivals for documentaries. Her other documentaries were also well received by critics with words such as authentic, strong, moving and humorous. To Christina, this new documentary project is another moving story dying to be told.
Moeders (Mothers) documentary, screenplay and direction // Soap and dishes documentary, (53’) screenplay and direction // Home video documentary, (53’) screenplay and direction (view point/Sabam prize for best documentary) // Une lettre de video (A video letter) documentary, screenplay and direction // Lily&Lardo series, screenplay script doctor // Claire Obscure short, screenplay and direction // A Brand “The Bubbles” music video, screenplay and direction // Held (Hero) dance film, screenplay and direction // Cowboys short, screenplay and direction // A Brand “Beauty Booty Killer Queen” music video, screenplay and direction // Sioen “ceci n’est pas un film”(this is not a film) concert film, screenplay and direction // De werkwinkel (The unemployment service) advert, screenplay and direction // Bloedzusters (Blood Sisters) dance film, screenplay and direction // Titus film theatre play, was selected for the Theatre festival (Kopergietery) Direction/author and video, won in Germany Kaas und Kappers best youth theatre play. // Alice (play with film fragments, Kopergietery)