The Reef

Director's note

Our film is about how children choose to deal or not deal with grief. The narrative is driven largely by the imagination of its protagonist Kath, who wants to forgive herself for not having been able to do more to save her brother.
An urgent need to protect children has been at the heart of my 12-year fight to make this film. From losing friends while growing up, whose parents felt that my family and I were too unsafe for their children to be around, to the desperate situations currently being experienced by children in Gaza and Ukraine, I know, and can imagine, the feelings of children whose grief is being overlooked or underestimated. Conversely, I also know the value of being given the space to process that grief.
The Reef is that space.
Kath's journey through Land's End is enthralling, surprising, wild and rowdy. At times it is fun and joyous, but it also has its difficult and confronting moments.

Karikko, on which our story is based, was written by Seita Vuorela, who drew her inspiration from Russian children she taught in disadvantaged communities across the Finnish border – children who in 2010 were walled off economically. She was inspired by their creative and emotional resourcefulness. In the 14 years since Seita wrote the book, those same communities and their children are now walled off physically. Like a message in a bottle, this story of resilience has made its way across the border, to Seita's keyboard, to me, then to Jytte, the producers and all our behind-the-scenes collaborators, and finally, it has been carried forward by the young cast of The Reef.

Our Reef children, who come from different racial, social and geographical backgrounds, read the script, understood its message and rallied around it. The message's final destination will be the kids, young and old, watching the screen, who will catch its meaning and carry it forward. Of that I'm certain.

Screenwriter's note

Writing the screenplay for The Reef was a precious experience for me. When I was first asked to read Seita Vuorela's source novel, I found myself holding my breath from the very first lines. Reading about the painful loss of a child cannot be easy, I thought. But Seita Vuorela found exactly the right story to tell it through – mystical, magical, buoyant and full of hope. An adventure I want to keep returning to, again and again. Like Astrid Lindgren with her novel The Brothers Lionheart, Seita has created a world where time and space don't matter – only love and the courage to live do.
Last year, when a classmate of my 11-year-old son died unexpectedly, I was reminded once more just how important it is to write a children's film like The Reef – a story that opens an important door for talking with children about the preciousness of life and its impermanence.
Together with Rüdiger Bertram, I wrote the screenplay for The Path for eyrie entertainment – another film built around a serious subject, telling a story of flight and children caught in war. Together, we managed to create a timeless, important children's film that reached young audiences around the world with great success. I'm convinced that with The Reef, we will once again create a timeless, meaningful children's film classic.

Biography

Christine Rau is a Berlin-based producer with more than 20 years of experience across feature films, documentaries and entertainment formats. She has worked with leading production companies including Dan Films (London), Egoli Tossell Film, Lupa Film and Zeitsprung Pictures. She joined eyrie entertainment in 2020, following her previous collaboration with producer Daniel Ehrenberg. She is a member of PROG - Producers of Germany, the German Line Producers’ Association, EAVE and WIFT Germany.

Producer's note

In an era shaped by uncertainty, collective crises and their lasting emotional impact – especially on younger generations – we feel a strong need to tell stories that address the inner worlds of children and teenagers with honesty, empathy and imagination. Seita Vuorela's award-winning novel Karikko captivated us immediately with its unique atmosphere, poetic narrative style and deeply moving themes, and we sensed this story had the potential to become something truly special. When Irish producer Margaret Milner Schmueck introduced us to the project – developed together with Germany-based Australian director Phillip Donnellon – we had just wrapped our first children's film The Path (winner of the City of Malmö Children's Film Award, German Film Award and German Film Critics Award 2022) and were searching for a new project with screenwriter Jytte-Merle Böhrnsen. She had proven with The Path that even the most serious subjects can be made accessible and gripping for young audiences without losing depth or authenticity, winning the Kindertiger Screenplay Award, voted on by a youth jury and sponsored by FFA and KiKA.
In this sense, adapting Karikko felt like a natural continuation of our work: once again, we tell an entertaining story with a serious undertone from the perspective of young protagonists, embracing the adventure genre with age-appropriate lightness – this time, however, in a contemporary, more metaphorical setting.
Accordingly, *The Reef *positions itself as an artistically ambitious yet accessible production with strong festival potential in children's and youth cinema. The film primarily targets children aged 10–14, though its genre elements will also appeal to young adults and a broader family audience. We're therefore convinced The Reef will enrich the European cinema landscape for children's and family films, succeeding in both the arthouse segment and the broader family market.

Biography

Evelin Penttilä is a film producer based in Estonia. She started her career as a film producer in 2011 and her filmography includes more than 10 feature films. In 2015 she founded Stellar Film as the leading producer aiming to make the film sphere in Estonia more versatile. Company has a slate of projects in all stages of production and is actively looking for new international collaborations. She is a member of European Film Academy, part of ACE Producers & EAVE networks and was selected as Producer on the Move 2022.

Biography

Oskari Huttu has worked as a producer for over a decade. During 2006-2010 he produced commercials for production house KOMIA Helsinki and 2008 he started his work with features in KOMIA’s sister company Bronson Club. Later on Bronson Club merged with Finland’s leading blockbuster production company Solar Films, and during 2010-2015 Oskari produced five features for Bronson and Solar, including Locarno/Critic’s week winning documentary Reindeerspotting (Bronson Club 2010), domestic cult classic comedy Kulman Pojat / Fanatics (Bronson Club 2012), acclaimed drama Kesäkaverit / Summertime (Solar Films 2014) and domestic super- blockbuster Luokkakokous / Reunion (Solar Films 2015). In the Autumn of 2015, Oskari left Solar Films to build a new company called Lucy Loves Drama.

Profile

eyrie entertainment develops and produces arthouse and crossover films for the German and international markets. The company was founded in Berlin in 2018 and is now based in Bonn. We have a great passion for good stories that are entertaining and have something to say about contemporary society.