SYNOPSIS

"Universalove" is a global love story. Six episodes in six different places of the world are told in a symbiosis of modern story-telling and popular music. "Universalove" is an experiment - a global love story. The interwoven storylines are located in Brooklyn, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Belgrade, Marseille and Luxembourg. The laconic narrative style captures moments that set the viewer on a journey around the globe and deep into the emotional worlds of very different characters affiliated with different cultural spheres and languages. In Marseille, Julie's heart beats wildly when thinking of Rashid. In Tokyo, Satoshi dreams about his adored one who works in a soup restaurant but who doesn't even know who he is. In Rio de Janeiro, Maria falls for a Telenovela star. In Belgrade, a couple fight for their very existence. In Brooklyn, the thoughts of a black taxi driver lead him into the emotional abyss of jealous love. In Luxembourg, a well-settled gentleman finally comes around to showing his true feelings for a young man... Love happens. Love takes place. Strange love. True love. Crazy love. Desperate Love. Everywhere, every moment."

In Competition for Best Narrative Feature Film

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

Universalove" held its World Premiere in the Vanguard program of the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. In January 2009, it screened at the Berlin International Film Festival. In February 2009, it was awarded the prestigious Max-Ophüls Preis at the 30th Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken, Germany - a festival regarded as "the most important forum for promoting new talents from Germany, Austria and Switzerland." Recently, "Universalove" made its USA Premiere at the 2009 Miami International Film Festival. The Centerpiece screening of "Universalove" at SJIFF2 is the film's western America debut.

DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY

Born in Klagenfurt, Thomas Woschitz studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, Italy. He directed several short films, such as “People’s Pockets and Bleeding Noses” (1995) and “Blindgänger - Duds” (1996) and the medium-length film “Girls and Cars (2004), which have all been shown at numerous festivals, including Venice, Locarno and the Festival de Cannes.

He also realized experimental film installations like “Oil Film” (1994) and “Loop’s End” (2003), or the imaginative sound film “moving landscape©“ (2002). In 2005, in collaboration with the band Naked Lunch, the music film “Closing Time” was created. Woschitz has also worked as a film editor on “La Capa Gira” and „Mio Cognato“, both by Alessandro Piva. After “Universalove”, he is now working on the feature film "The Robbers – Reloaded."

• Click here for high-quality images of Director Woschitz.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

"Universalove is a love story. It's a journey around the world with all kinds of people, sharing the same feelings. Everything is possible everywhere at the same moment. But, after all, it’s a musical for people who would never watch a musical.“

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SHOWTIMES

SUN. 5/17 at 3:30PM
Stockton Empire Theatre

CO-PRESENTER

CAST AND CREW

Co-Director: Naked Lunch
Screenwriter: Thomas Woschitz, Andrea Piva
Producer: Gabriele Kranzelbinder, Pol Cruchten, Jeanne Geiben, Miroslav Mogorović
Cinematographer: Heinz Brandner
Editor: Thomas Woschitz
Music: Naked Lunch
Production Management: Marie Tappero, Zigafilm (Rio de Janeiro), Ribo ltd (Tokyo), Paradoxal Inc. (New York), Les Films du Présent (Marseille)
Principal Cast: Anica Dobra, Dušan Ašković, Damien Smith, Sri Gordon, Daniel Plier, Sascha Migge, Liza Machover, Samir „RPZ“ Menouar, Magda Gomes, Erom Cordeiro, Kyoichi Komoto, Makiko Kawai

SOURCES

World Sales: Films Boutique
www.filmsboutique.com

Production: KGP Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production
www.kgp.co.at