In the poignant new short film FIVE, award winning directing duo The Mercadantes explore the world of religion through the eyes of children. Capturing tykes from India, South Africa, Japan and the U.S. going about their religious practices, FIVE reveals that five-year-olds offer powerful lessons for us all.
True to its name, FIVE features five five-year-olds, hailing from five different religions. The children in FIVE—whether Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Buddhism—are average kids, yet naturals in the practice of prayer.
In the film, each child dresses to go to his or her place of worship, donning distinctive accessories of cultural significance. As we see their five different lunches, shoes, and modes of transportation, we feel the vast distance between each of them. They are a world apart in culture, religion, and space.
But these everyday events morph into a moment of spirituality and commonality. In each country, they complete their religious rituals with a reverence and sense of purpose that is touching and remarkable in its sincerity, ending with a moment of silence. This film makes us question if we really are so disconnected after all.
FIVE is the latest in The Mercadantes’ ongoing Collection Film series, all of which capture universal stories without dialogue. Previous Collection Films, including Breath and Ball, have garnered widespread media attention.
Director Katina Mercadante says of FIVE, “It was challenging and inspiring to film children in their religions. Kids at that age are so pure and naive. They all came to it with an open heart.”
Two years in the making and featuring non-actor children, FIVE is also unique with its female director at the helm. Katina Mercadante’s filmmaking partner and cinematographer Daniel Mercadante notes, of their Collection Films, “It’s a matter of noticing.”
“To get people to notice life in its simplest forms. That can be truly beautiful.”
Credits:
Director: Katina Mercadante
Cinematographer: Daniel Mercadante
Producer: Katina Mercadante
Editor: Daniel Mercadante
Assistant Editor: Alisha Shimada
Producer – India: Sonali Gosh
Malayan Translator: Vijayan Peringode
Japanese Translator: Miwako Ozawa
Xhosa Translator: Blessing Gurure
Casting – Japan: Ko Iwagami
Casting – USA: Linda Varonin
SPECIAL THANKS: Jordan Gill, Rathnam Kutty, Chithra Nandan, Nqatyiswa Ngqavu, Krishnaja Olappamanna, The Ashraf Family, The Johanix Family, The Kumar Family, The Kutty Family, The Nana Family, Kanthaloor Temple, Olappamanna Mana,The Koi Emeth Congregation, Georgina Pope, Twenty First City, Khayelitsha Community, Milton Matiwane Church, Rocket Films South Africa
About The Mercadantes
The Mercadantes have worked primarily with non-actors to capture, rather than construct, their subjects and their stories. The duo’s shorts and spots reveal the beauty in the everyday, playing with the lines between documentary, fiction and experimental cinema.
Along with broadcast and online commercials, the directors’ films have screened at art galleries including the Guggenheim’s YouTube Play Biennial. The Mercadantes’ film work has won numerous awards including a 2015 DGA Award nomination, Clio Awards, Cannes Lions, and inclusion in Ted Ads Worth Spreading.
Katina Mercadante directed and produced documentaries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, working on international film projects for the UN. Educated at Amherst College, she met Daniel while making a series of commercials shot in a documentary style. The Mill Valley-based duo has collaborated on films and award-winning commercials ever since, and recently joined Oscar-and-Emmy winning production company Park Pictures.
Daniel Mercadante entered the directing spotlight with the Everynone films Symmetry and Words, commissioned by the wildly popular NPR show/podcast, Radiolab. The episodes garnered millions of views online, inspiring agencies and brands to tap the director’s unique talents. Katina Mercadante directed and produced documentaries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, working on international film projects for the UN. Educated at Amherst College, she met Daniel while making a series of commercials shot in a documentary style. The Mill Valley-based duo has collaborated on films and award-winning commercials ever since, and recently joined Oscar-and-Emmy winning production company Park Pictures.
About Park Pictures
Founded in 1998 by Executive Producer Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and renowned filmmaker/cinematographer Lance Acord, Bicoastal/London-based Park Pictures has an auspicious track record of discovering and mentoring new filmmaking talent, and infusing all projects with big screen production values. Park Pictures has forged strong partnerships with agencies, studios and clients worldwide by engaging all members of its team in creative problem solving.
In commercials, Lance Acord won a 2014 Emmy for his acclaimed Apple “Misunderstood” commercial. Acord’s Nike “Jogger” was named Best TV Spot of 2012 by Creativity Magazine and also got a 2013 Emmy nod. Acord has received three DGA Award nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials.
Park Pictures’ feature division, headed by Producer Sam Bisbee, Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and Lance Acord, has produced four features, all of which were selected for the Sundance Film Festival within a three-year timespan. Picked up by major distributors were Sundance award-winning Robot and Frank (2013), Infinitely Polar Bear (2014), starring Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana, and God’s Pocket (2014), starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. In 2015, Park Pictures comes to Sundance with Cop Car (2015), its first thriller, starring Kevin Bacon. Park Pictures won a 2010 Academy Award for the company’s first narrative film, live-action short “The New Tenants,” starring Vincent D’Onofrio.