FILM PROJECTS
Below are the film productions either in production, or looking for partners and funding. If you are interested to hear more, please drop me a line at contact@melodysky.com
Nocturnal Ice
Over the next year I will photograph our glaciers in Switzerland under the light of the solar system at night. I will also create a short film of timelapses of each glacier and icy peak.
It will involve spending numerous nights over the next year either camping or staying in mountain huts by our glaciers and capturing the Milky Way and stars dancing in the sky. Whether mountain biking, hiking or ski touring, it will always take some effort and planning to choose capture the images I want to get. The goal is to be able to share beautiful imagery of the vanishing glaciers and help encourage people to make even small changes to protect our planet.
I will be accompanied by the very talented cinematographer Guido Perrini who will make a short film about the ‘making of’. He will film what it takes to capture these images and give a little insight into the effort to achieve our goal.
This will be the first time I have ever agreed to be on camera and I am terrified, but at the same time excited. Having worked with Guido on projects for many years, I know how beautiful his cinematography is, and if anyone will make me comfortable on camera, it’s him! This will also lead into a film series that he is written and is looking for a partner on. See below, ‘Mountain People’
Mountain People
This will be a series of short films or episodes, written by Guido Perrini and will feature ‘Nocturnal Ice’. I will accompany Guido as his series photographer.
The Alps, the spine of Europe. Dividing countries, cultures, and a continent for thousands of years, and forging some of Europe’s most distinct traditions, characters, and hard-to-reach destinations in the process. The diversity that the Alps have created, from languages to cuisines, local folklore, festivals, and of course the fiercely independent people of all regions. Their force of character and ambition also led to the evolution of mountaineering and alpinism, followed by modern-day skiing, and ultimately the Alps became known as the birthplace of adventure sports and travel.
Mountain People will offer up episodic vignettes of these characters and the locations that they are inextricably connected with - the people that are both de ned by their location, and who help to explain why the place is so special through what they have chosen to do there.
We want to tell inspiring stories, tragic stories, stories of adventure, people overcoming adversity, environmental stories, stories that cry out to be told of amazing people.
Two Peaks
Two Peaks is a short documentary film that aims to reconnect with a heritage lost through the trails of war, genocide and immigration.
The film follows Jess Oundjian, a passionate skier and professional wildfire fighter as she travels to Armenia and Turkey with the aim of exploring both her ancestry and the regions tumultuous history through backcountry skiing.
Joined by long-time friend and professional skier, Nat Segal and local skier and climber Mkhik Mkhitaryn, the team climb and ski two prominent mountains, Mount Ararat and mount Aragats, that represent two of the countries highest peaks and also symbolise the region’s complex geopolitical relations.
The ski expedition will be woven together with Jess’ personal journey to understand her family’s history. The great grand-daughter of Armenian immigrants who fled the Armenian Genocide during World War I, she knows little about her family’s past, which has engendered a desire to learn more about her roots.
With the dramatic landscape as a backdrop for the team to explore Armenia’s and Turkey’s mountain culture they will gain a greater understanding of the past, present and Armenia’s hopes for the future.
TBA
I can’t give too much away about this movie yet! But it is one I have always wanted to make since watching the Big Blue in 1990, two years after it’s release. Our movie follows a well known world champion freediver on his quest to beat his own world record. In addition he spends his life devoted to educating people on sharks and frequently swims without a cage alongside the historically feared Great White Shark..
We started working on the movie almost 8 months before the pandemic stopped all travel. I very much hope that we can jump back into it again soon!