Rhode Island International Film Festival 2019 – Lunar-Orbit rendezvous
A woman-tampon joins a man-astronaut on a road trip to the moon. Daniel is on a mission to scatter his mother’s ashes and Claude is hoping for her period to make a miraculous return. A modern tale that captures the fever dream of a first voyage to the moon.
Interview with Director Melanie Charbonneau
Watch Lunar-Orbit rendezvous here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Falling in love is the result of synchronicity. Sometimes everything is in place to make it happen (or not!). It’s like the first trip to the moon: NASA wasn’t sure that the technique they were going to use - Lunar Orbit Rendezvous – was really going to get the team up there. But it all worked out in the end.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
We filmed it in 16 mm. The texture of it emphasizes the poetry of the story. We decided to also make really low key special effects.
For example, when the two protagonists leave earth for space, we simply shake the camera to feel the lift-off.
And we used a simple traveling shot and rotation to make a gas station float into space. These in-camera executions are at once simple and sumptuous. It’s a modern Melies approach.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I wanted to make a film about how intimacy develops between two people. When you share your fear and pain with someone, it brings you closer together. We use intimacy as a fuel for the creative process.
It was inspired by how Richard Linklater worked with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in the series Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight. Like them, we wanted to make the conversations in the film feel real and authentic. We met time to time, over six months, to share personal stories about love, fear, life, etc. Those conversations became the inspiration for Frederic (the actor and screenwriter) to write the scenes. Intimacy was a constant theme and we created the film in this state of mind.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
That intimate bubble built throughout the creative process mentioned previously was maintained during filming and just kept nourishing the script.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Here's an example of feedback I've received from the Euganea Film festival where the jury gave me a special mention for the film: "A courageous and fearless film, that deals with life experiences with humour and joy. The director shows us the two characters with affection and conveys us a contagious energy, even when talking about serious things."
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I'm really touched by this. I want to make film that makes people think and laugh. And when people feel that, appreciate it, it's just awesome!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'd like exploring a universal theme that can touch anyone around the globe and this platform is just a new way to share Lunar-Orbit rendezvous.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
This year is the 50th anniversary of the first trip to the moon and the film brings us back the excitement of this era in a creative way. Having a buyer or a sale from the states that want to help reach that goal would be awesome. I would like the film to be distributed on an online US platform. Also, a journalist could be interested in covering this film to share an art project related to the first trip to the moon.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The film already had an amazing career at festivals. It premiered at Locarno in 2018. Now, it has been presenting in more than 40 festivals around the globe including Namur Film festival, Pacific Meridian, Indie Lisboa and Valladolid international film festival. Having the film screen at RIFF, I'm dreaming of a potential Oscar qualification. But that is just a dream...
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How did you fall in love?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm releasing my first feature Fabuleuses at the end of the month.
It's a comedy/drama inspired by a web series created in 2015. There's Laurie, the girl next door trying to become fabulous. There’s Clara, the social media star who lives by the likes. And then there’s Elisabeth, who rebels against all that. We follow the three friends through the summer of infinite possibilities, as they experiment in overcoming the paradoxes facing modern young women.
Interview: August 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Lunar-Orbit rendezvous
A woman-tampon joins a man-astronaut on a road trip to the moon. Daniel is on a mission to scatter his mother’s ashes and Claude is hoping for her period to make a miraculous return. A modern tale that captures the fever dream of a first voyage to the moon.
Length: 14:00
Director: Melanie Charbonneau
Producer: Virginie Nolin
Writer: Frederic Lemay
About the writer, director and producer:
Canadian filmmaker raised in L’Île d’Orléans and based in Montreal (Quebec), MELANIE CHARBONNEAU directs films, web series and commercials. Her last short film, Single, was selected in many festivals including Namur, Fantasia, Cambridge, Off-Courts Trouville and Bayou. In 2019, Mélanie is releasing her first feature, Fabulous, produced by Go Films.
Key cast: Frédéric Lemay (Daniel), Noémie O'farrell (Claude)
Looking for: buyers, journalists, sales agents, film festival directors
Facebook: Mélanie Charbonneau
Twitter: @extramelanie
Instagram: @extramelanie
Hashtags used: #lunarorbitrendezvous #melaniecharbonneau
Website: travellingdistribution.com/en/film/lunar-orbit-rendezvous-347
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Rhode Island Film Festival/Rhode Island USA - 06-08-2019 to 11-08-2019 ; Almaty indie Film Festival / Kazakhstan - 15-08-2019 to 18-08-2019 ; Gozo film festival/ Malta - 23-08-2019 to 25-08-2019 ; Sapporo International short film festival and Market/ Japan - 16-10-2019 to 20-10-2019.