Drama, Family

Don't cry, fly / Aloft

In the past, Nana is a mother prepared to do whatever it takes to find a cure for Greta, her little girl who has a brain tumor. In a moment of desperation, she takes her to a healing act given by the famous architect Newman, an artist, nomad and altruist who travels the world, using natural found materials to build enigmatic structures whose main characteristic is their fragility. For him, the possibility of healing can only occur in that brief period in which the sculpture is kept alive and standing, with nature itself (rain, wind or the movement of the earth) being the only thing that has the power to wrest away the hope of being healed.

Nana travels to the event site with her two children: Greta and Ivan. Ivan is 10 years old and brings his hawk wherever he goes, being an accomplished falconer just like his father who died a few years back. Accidentally, the bird destroys Newman’s structure before he has a chance to start the healing act on the chosen child, a baby. One of those present is a man who happened to have the next turn. Caught up in the frustration over the hawk destroying the structure and thus his own daughter’s opportunity to be healed, the man shoots and kills the bird before little Ivan’s very eyes.

Days later, Newman shows up at the farm where Nana works to tell her the baby was healed that day. He also tells her she was the one responsible for his being cured. In spite of her doubts, Nana will start to discover a calling and a destiny that will take her life in a new direction. But Ivan feels betrayed when he sees him mother go to help the daughter of the man who killed his hawk. In a fit of rage, Ivan runs away with his little sister and their flight triggers an accident that will cost little Greta her life. Devastated by the tragedy, Nana must find meaning in her daughter’s death and gives herself up to her recently discovered calling.

In the present, 20 years later, Nana Kunning has become one of the most mysterious and polemic healers of our time. Her work is always performed in secret and she does not give interviews. Discovering the location of her next act is as difficult and gaining access to her. Jania Ressmore, a journalist obsessed with the “Kunning phenomena”, reaches out to Ivan, now a man with an indomitable personality who has trouble connecting with others, even those in his own family. His only passion is falconry, taming birds that no one would dare to fly. Ivan makes a deal with her: he will answer any question she has as long as she takes him to his mother’s next act, years having passed since he last saw her. Thus, Ivan and Ressmore embark on a journey along one of the most dangerous roads in the world. The attraction between them is palpable. Ivan gives himself up to her in an intense sexual relationship that breaks through all his barriers. Yet Ivan doesn’t realize that Ressmore’s real reason for going to Kunning’s event is something very different. Thus, the journey will force them to question not only what they believe in life, but also in themselves.

Digital platforms

Filmin

Data Sheet

Year 2014
Director/a CLAUDIA LLOSA
Distributor WANDA
International sales THE DREAMCATCHERS
CAST
NanaJENNIFER CONNELLY
IvanCILLIAN MURPHY
RessemoreMÉLANIE LAURENT
NewmanWILLIAM SHIMELL
Ivan (10)ZEN MCGRATH
GullyWINTA MCGRATH
AliceOONA CHAPLIN
IkePETER MCROBBIE
LanceANDY MURRAY
HansIAN TRACEY
TECHNICAL TEAM
Director and WriterCLAUDIA LLOSA
ProducersJOSÉ MARÍA MORALES
IBON CORMENZANA
PHYLLIS LAING
Executive ProducersIGNASI ESTAPÉ
MIGUEL MORALES
SANDRA HERMIDA
MARK JOHNSON
CLAUDIA LLOSA
JÉRÔME VIDAL
Delegate ProducerSANDRA TAPIA
Director of PhotographyNICOLAS BOLDUC
Art Director EUGENIO CABALLERO
EditorGUILLE DE LA CAL
MusicMICHAEL BROOK
Sound DesignerFABIOLA ORDOYO
Direct SoundLEON JOHNSON
Sound MixesMARC ORTS
Second unit DirectorCELIA RICO
Line ProducersSANDRA HERMIDA
RHONDA BAKER
CSC
Production ManagerJOE LAURIN
Production AssistantMARGA HUGUET
Assistant Director DANIELA FORN
VFX SupervisorLLUIS CASTELLS
Costume DesignerHEATHER NEALE
HairdressingTRAVIS MARSZALEK
Makeup Artist DOUG MORROW
Special MakeupMIKE MARINO
Casting DirectorsMEREDITH TUCKER (US)
SHAHEEN BAIG (UE)
CARMEN KOTYK (CA)

Awards / Selection