Private Project

Lo Combat

In a snowy and cold winter night a young novice veterinarian has to fight against the unexpected adversity of life to demonstrate to herself and to a gruff and old mountain farmer of being able to carry out her mission: give birth to the beloved Bufera, cow queen of the stable. It is a matter of life or death.

- MOUNTAIN LIFE Award - Bergfilm Tegernsee Film Festival
- SHORTS FIlm Award - 25 Gran Paradiso Film Festival
- CORTONARURA Award - 25 Gran Paradiso Film Festival
- TRENTO FILM FESTIVAL - Selezione Ufficiale
- ORTOMETRAGGI FILM FESTIVAL - Selezione Ufficiale
- CERVINO CINEMOUNTAIN - Selezione Ufficiale
- RURAL FILM FEST - Selezione Ufficiale
- FESTIVAL DEL CINEMA DI CEFALU’ - Selezione Ufficiale

  • Gaël Truc
    Director
  • Eleonora Zappia
    Producer
  • Alice Viérin
    Key Cast
  • Ettore Champretavy
    Key Cast
  • Francesco Rey
    Director of photography
  • Gaël Truc
    Subject
  • Eleonora Zappia
    Subject
  • Francesco Rey
    Subject
  • Gaël Truc
    Screenwriter
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Lo Combat
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Rural, Drama
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    21,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85,1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Aries Film
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Gaël Truc

After graduating first from the DAMS University in Bologna and then from the IULM University in Milan with a degree in Television, Cinema and New Media, in 2016 I began my career as a freelance filmmaker in Italy and abroad. After many collaborations with different clients such as Emergency, Sky Arte, Treccani, FAI, Repubblica TV (and others), I returned to work permanently in my beloved Alps. After years of experience as a cameraman and editor, I gradually developed a directing sensibility which naturally evolved into a passion for documentary and fiction film writing. In 2018 I produced and directed Le Petit Tour, a documentary serial for television, which was distributed in several European countries, Canada and the United States. In 2021, I wrote and directed my first fiction short film Lo Combat, whose distribution has just started.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The film is a fictional tale strongly inspired by real situations, which are the result of a long and careful research. The fortuitous meeting with a cow specialized veterinary, and the curious stories and anecdotes that this meeting allowed me to collect, made me want to explore more deeply the figure of these individuals.
The main challenge that the film presented, was of course the matching between cinematic fiction and a unique and unrepeatable real event: the birth of the cow. Coming from the documentary’s world, the hypothesis of recreating the birth of the calf with special effects never crossed my mind. There was only one way to make the film: by staining the hands of the actors with real blood and placenta. In fact, the difficult part was not filming the birth itself, but managing, coordinating and preparing all the fictional cinematographic apparatus that we had built around it. Months of preparation and several sleepless nights to be able to capture the few minutes that separate nothing from everything: the miracle of life. One take!