Anna Maria Gregorini, Storm School producer and general manager of Altamira Creation AG, explains the motivation behind the film and an update on the development so far.
Anna Maria, what inspired the birth of the Storm School project?
AMG: The initial idea back in 2013 was to produce a documentary dedicated to the fascination of sailing. However, we soon realised that a purely factual piece would not reach a wide enough audience, so we developed the idea of a semi-fictional motion picture. The final script is inspired by the lives of three people – my longtime friend Victor Kovalenko; Lijia Xu and Mat Belcher, two amazing Olympic and world-class sailors. All three defied the odds in achieving their dreams.
Six years on from the conception of the idea, what have been the key milestones achieved so far?
AMG: After developing an initial framework for the project, some story ideas and a brief synopsis, the core team was able to convince some passionate individuals to support the idea of this movie.
While we were all motivated to move forward, we had little idea about the international movie industry and had no connections in this field. Thanks to a friend of mine, Ulrike Koch, herself a successful Swiss/German documentary producer, we were able to engage the commitment of Wieland Schulz-Keil, a highly experienced and well-connected German movie-producer. He became our consultant and more recently our German co-producer.
In turn, Wieland opened the door to the highly-regarded producer, the New Zealander Vincent Ward (read interview here) and Jonathan Shteinman, who became our Australian co-producer. Without their commitment, the project would never have made it beyond the first stage of development.
What have been the biggest challenges faced?
AMG: Persuading people to invest in this project! Interestingly, half of the investment received to develop Storm School has come from non-sailors, who believe in the emotional and psychological journey of this movie. It proves we have a story that will engage many interests.
What unites the people involved in the film?
AMG: A deep-seated passion for sailing combined with the appreciation of an extraordinary tale of winning against all odds.
Today, what is the current status of the project and what are the next steps?
AMG: The movie has become an international co-production with Australian, Ukraine, Germany and Switzerland all involved. Pre-production is complete, including international location scouting and principal casting. We started shooting in November 2020.
What are the main challenges you still need to overcome?
AMG: To complete the financing and to ensure the entire production process runs smoothly.
Do you have any particular messages for the movie’s partners and investors - actual and potential?
AMG: Your personal story might well reflect one or more of the lives depicted in the movie. It is likely your achievements in life were based on principles similar to those inspiring the main protagonists. Overcoming challenges is what unites our partners who have committed to the project and a desire to succeed against the odds will hopefully inspire others to support the Storm School project.