The science fiction film “Vesper Chronicles” has been in theaters since August 17. An ambitious feature film which however required long months of scouting for its shooting in natural settings.
Vesper Chronicles: the pretty SF surprise of the summer
In the midst of summer blockbusters, an ambitious science fiction film was released on our screens this Wednesday, August 17: Vesper Chronicles. Directed by the duo Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper, the feature film takes place in a near future in which ecosystems have collapsed.
An oligarchy managed to take refuge and thrive in fortresses. The rest of the population leads an existence in a hostile environment. Vesper, a young girl living in the woods with her father, dreams of offering herself another life thanks to her talents as a biohacker. The day a ship from a fortress crashes with a mysterious passenger on board, she tells herself that fate is knocking at her door.
Worn by Raffiella Chapman, Eddie Marsan and Rosy McEwen, Vesper Chronicles is a French, Lithuanian and Belgian co-production.
Shot in natural settings
Endowed with great ambition but with a limited budget, the film was thought out down to the smallest detail by its director duo. Especially when it comes to decorations.
Thus, only the interiors of Vesper’s house were shot in the studio. Everything else was shot in the middle of nature, in Lithuania, in winter. A well-considered decision but which nevertheless did not lack challenge, as Bruno Samper confides in the press kit for the film:
There was two meters of snow. Locations were impossible. Two weeks before filming, it was still snowing heavily and we hadn’t been able to validate any filming location. We had to validate the sets during the shooting
For her part, Kristina Buozyte says she prefers immerse the actors in reality so that they enter more deeply into the skin of their characters:
We had to survey all of Lithuania, all its forests, all its reserves, to find the right places (…) Filming was also a real challenge, especially for the actors. But it’s a blessing in disguise: in the middle of nature, actors are more reactive to what surrounds them. As a director, I try as much as possible to immerse my actors in reality (…) The immersion of the actors themselves is the main tool for immersing the public in turn, which is our greatest desire.
A beautiful ambitious and magical SF surprise not to be missed at the cinema.
