Director: Mehdi Charef, Emir Kusturica, Spike Lee, Katia Lund, Jordan & Ridley Scott, Stefano Veneruso and John Woo
Cast: Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Rosie Perez, Hazelle Goodman, David Thewlis & Kelly Macdonald
Producers: Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Chiara Tilesi and Stefano Veneruso
2005 - 108 mins - In Mandarin, English, Italian, Portuguese & Serbo-Croatian (S/T)
ALL THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN is a very special initiative. The project's Italian producers sought to create a cinematic project that would raise awareness about the plight of children around the world. Both UNICEF and the World Food Programme lent their support and some of the world's best know directors jumped at the opportunity to contribute a short segment, offering their services for free.
ALL THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN opens with "Tanza," (Africa) by Algerian novelist/director Mehdi Charef, about a 12-year-old, rifle-toting freedom-fighter set against a backdrop of breathtaking African landscapes; Emir Kusturica's special gift for mixing broad comedy and social comment is evident in "Blue Gypsy" (Serbia-Montenegro) about a boy trying to break with his drunken father and family of thieves; "Ciro," (Italy) set in Naples, addresses the problem of stereotyping and features a cameo from co-producer, Maria Grazia Cucinotta; Spike Lee's "Jesus Children of America" (USA) is the touching story of Blanca who is cruelly tormented at school because her parents are junkies with Rosie Perez giving a heartbreaking performance as Blanca's loving but imperfect mother; "Bilu and Joao," (Brazil) sees Katia Lund, co-director of CITY OF GOD create an optimistic film about Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of the harshest places in the world to be a young destitute child; "Jonathan," (UK) directed by Ridley and his daughter Jordan Scott offers an adult perspective through which to view a band of East European war orphans; and John Woo's "Song Song and Little Cat," is a touching story about two girls from very different backgrounds.
ALL THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN has been officially selected for prestigious festivals around the world including the Berlin, Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals.