Last Stop Before
Chocolate Mountain

Author and director: Susanna della Sala

Produced by DOCLAB

 

The documentary is among the 10 selected for the sixty-eighth edition of the Davids, which will compete for the David di Donatello – Cecilia Mangini 2023 Award, for the best documentary.

Italy, 2022
Produced by DOCLAB

Among the remnants of a man-made disaster a forlorn community flourishes thanks to the healing power of art.

In the midst of the harsh Californian desert and on the shores of a toxic lake lies a land that time forgot: Bombay Beach. This once abandoned town is now home to a small eclectic community where art heals people in the most unexpected ways. A British matriarch, a retired bank robber, an evicted artist from LA and an Italian prince open the doors to a magical land, a living theater, perhaps a way to an alternative life.

Trailer

Credits

Original title: Last Stop Before Chocolate Mountain
Country of production: Italy
Year of production: 2022
Length: 90′
Shooting format: HD
Screening format: 1920 x 1080 / Apple Prores 422 (HQ) / 24 fps
Language(s): English
Subtitles: English /French
Color or b/n: Color
Production: Doclab, Italy
Author and director: Susanna della Sala
DoP: Andrea Josè di Pasquale
Editors: Aline Hervè, Susanna della Sala e Elisabetta Abrami
Original soundtrack: Vittorio De Vecchi
Additional music: Alex Ebert, The Acid, Vera Sola, Linda della Sala, Zee Avi
Producers: Marco Visalberghi (DocLab) Sherin Salvetti (DocLab)
Original title: Last Stop Before Chocolate Mountain
Country of production: Italy
Year of production: 2022
Length: 90′
Shooting format: HD
Screening format: 1920 x 1080 / Apple Prores 422 (HQ) / 24 fps
Language(s): English
Subtitles: English /French
Color or b/n: Color
Production: Doclab, Italy
Author and director: Susanna della Sala
Scritto da: Susanna della Sala
DoP: Andrea Josè di Pasquale
Editors: Aline Hervè, Susanna della Sala e Elisabetta Abrami
Original soundtrack: Vittorio De Vecchi
Additional music: Alex Ebert, The Acid, Vera Sola, Linda della Sala, Zee Avi
Producers: Marco Visalberghi (DocLab) Sherin Salvetti (DocLab)

Susanna Della Sara

DIRECTOR

Gallery

CV DocLab

www.doclab.it

Founded by director and producer Marco Visalberghi, DOCLAB is an established production company dedicated to documentary films. Innovation, quality and an indomitable independent spirit have inspired the twenty years of work in which Doclab has brought Italian creativity to the world by making successful co-productions with prestigious international partners with films that have achieved important recognitions in major festivals, like the Golden Lion at the 70th Venice Film Festival with Sacro GRA by Gianfranco Rosi.

In 2021 the documentary film CAVEMAN – THE HIDDEN GIANT, the first work of young director Tommaso Landucci, was selected at the Giornate degli Autori in Venice at the Festival dei Popoli in Florence, Budapest Film Festival, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Trento Film Festival.

Director’s statement:

The documentary was born from a personal life experience and its creative process was four years in the making. “Last Stop before Chocolate Mountain” to me represents a universal and metaphorical land where we confront ourselves, awakening our creative impulses, in the mirage of individual liberation. The film embodies the collective longing, both desperate and joyful, for acceptance and a sense of belonging.

Producer’s note:

When in 2019, back from her last long stay in Bombay Beach, Susanna della Sala came to us with her magical footage I realized how much that unique community had captured her imagination. Personally, I have always been fascinated by life stories from the edge of the world, be it the ‘’Sacred’’ GRA of Rome or the desert of California. That is why I decided to bet on this young and original director. Marco Visalberghi.