Selected projects:

“HOPE DEDICATION PROMISE” WEB DOCUMENTARY 24′

In a remote mountain village in Indonesia, an educated farmer is devoted to finding children affected by cleft lip and cleft palate. Since his two sons were operated for free, Natsir has made a difference in the region. He found more than 70 children affected by the malformation and made it possible for them to receive the same treatment his sons received.”Hope – Dedication – Promise” is an independent documentary that gives an insight on the reality of being born with clefts in a developing country and what it means for the children and their families to be offered help.

Director: Stefano Levi
Camera: Werner Kubny
Editing: Stefano Levi, Christoph Tetzner-Kannen
Executive Producer: Duncan Quirk
Commentary speaker: Deborah Friedman
Sound Mixing: Stephan Busch
Sound Studio: Art Audio, Cologne
Produced by Human Touch Pictures in partnership with Smile Train

IN DEVELOPMENT / TV SERIES 6 x 52′ – LAST WISDOM KEEPERS

TV documentary Series 6 x 52′ +  Feature Documentary for cinema. LAST WISDOM KEEPERS treats on the ancient wisdom of the last living traditional societies on Earth. We visit the elders, shamans and healers across four continents to discover ancient healing practices and stone-age old concepts about the relationship of humans with nature and with each other. A „road movie“ that will shed a new light on aspects that have been recently discovered by the latest scientific research giving a new understanding about ancient knowledge that have accompanied humankind for thousands of years long before the appearance of religions.

IN DEVELOPMENT / TV SERIES – HUMANITARIANS AT THE EDGE
FOR A SMILE (TV 52min / 30min / Human Touch Pictures) In preparation.

For a Smile is a documentary currently in production. What does it mean to be different in our modern society where appearance has such a strong role? For a Smile follows the story of a 21 year old Indonesian girl whose face is heavily deformed by cleft lip / palate deformation. At the age of 21 she meets a group of Italian doctors travelling to her Town in Borneo. This encounter will change her life. A documentary about the life-changing experience of a beautiful young lady who waited 21 years to fulfill her dream of normality. The story of Rabasia (21) also unveils the difficulties of being different in a country like Indonesia, the personal tragedy and touches several aspects in relation to giving and receiving help. It also investigates about the motivation that brings of doctors and nurses to sacrifice their own holidays and work for free to help others. This project is partially shot and unedited. We are currently looking for TV commissioners to continue production.

For more information about this documentary, please contact us directly.

COMPLETED PILOT + CINEMA FEATURE / TV SERIES HUMANITARIANS AT THE EDGE

OUT OF THE DARKNESS (Documentary for cinema 82′ / Pilot for TV 52′ / English) Theatrical release in Germany 29.03.2012
Directed by Stefano Levi. Produced by Werner Kubny, Per Schnell, Stefano Levi. Editor: Rainer Nigrelli. Directors of Photography: Luca Coltri, Stefano Levi. Written by Stefano Levi, Lisa Wagner. Music by Prem Rana (Autari) and Markus Aust. Sound: Rosalie Kubny

Two doctors and their team of local assistants hike with an entire hospital on porter’s backs, to the very remote highlands of Nepal’s northeast. For 25 USD and 5 minutes per operation, they cure cataract blinded people in the most remote and inaccessible areas on Earth. The last hope and a life-changing experience for the inhabitants of these regions, who would normally not have the means or reaching hospitals in cities. For the rural poor, it is a rescue from their desperate situation: they could neither travel the long way to Kathmandu nor afford the costs for the surgical intervention in the hospital. More than half of the world’s preventable blindness is caused by cataract disease as a consequence of malnutrition and low standards of living. Most of it occurs in developing countries. The clouding of the clear lens of the eye is a widespread disease, but fortunately it is also easy to cure. Congenital cataracts affect many young children who, if not cured, will not be able to live a normal life and are destined to be a burden for their families. Filmmaker Stefano Levi and his small team joined the doctors to witness the struggle against blindness and to create awareness about the problem of cataract disease, a preventable disability in the developing world. “Out of Darkness” premiered at several international film festivals worldwide. “Out of the Darkness” shows that this simple and inexpensive surgical procedure not only is life-changing for those affected by cataract, it also influences the economic structure of communities, which are based on the well-being and economy of the family. An independent film inspired by positive change.

For more information about this feature-length documentary, please visit the official website:
http://www.outofthedarkness-film.com