Vainilla Chip

Director: Erik Knudsen

Year: 2024

The film centres around a small remote island off the coast of Greece, which is owned by Mr Goodwin. He has hired three young British people in their late 20s, Kai, Rosie and her brother, Daniel, to refurbish the only habitable house on the island, and its gardens, as part of preparations to let the island and the house out to city guests seeking a spiritual retreat and sanctuary. Daniel, Kai and Rosie have never met Mr Goodwin and are supervised by Mr Goodwin’s assistants who visit the island regularly. A surprise unsolicited visit to the island by a young Greek couple, Loukas and Themis, who seem driven by ideological social justice ambitions, creates a rift between Daniel, Kai and Rosie. Daniel finds himself caught between conflicting loyalties, as those around him gradually descend into a resentful ideological rebellion against the elusive Mr Goodwin and the classical and imperial history his heritage restoration project appears to celebrate. The resulting developments ultimately lead to a fateful confrontation with Mr Goodwin’s only son, when he unexpectedly visits the island in an attempt to rescue the wayward restoration project. No-one saw this coming and the consequences will be far reaching.

Director: Erik Knudsen

Year: 2021

Very much a film for our times, TRUE CALLING finds ambitious young UK government minister Josh (David Smith) in a moral crisis on the eve of a critical pre-election debate. <br /> <br /> Poised for success, Josh presses pause on his political campaigning and spirits himself to the Yorkshire hometown he hasn’t seen in years. Once there, he strolls the streets and countryside, reflecting on the man he was and contemplating the man he wants to be. Meeting up with his former love Maddy (Eliza Marsland), who herself is facing a crossroads in the form of her imminent wedding, the pair discuss their past, what could have been and how they each now fit into a changing world. <br /> <br /> Taking a graceful detour through UK politics, spirituality and purpose, Erik Knudsen’s film tells a timeless story of love, longing and regret, infused with a wry religious flavour reminiscent of landmark cinema classics such as Denys Arcand’s JESUS OF MONTREAL and the warmth and engagement of Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE.

Director: Erik Knudsen

Year: 2021

No hiding from the true calling of your heart.<br /> <br /> A romantic drama with a sprinkling of politics and a mystical twist, TRUE CALLING is a contemporary tale of a successful young government minister who is faced with a moral and spiritual crisis as he heads into a national election. On the eve of a critical pre-election television debate that he is due to participate in, Josh Joseph, who is earmarked for continued ministerial success, decides, on impulse, to take a significant political risk. He disrupts his hectic electioneering schedule to leave London and drive to the north of England, in order to visit a female childhood friend, Maddy, whom he has not seen for 17 years. He has discovered that she is getting married on the day of the election and is sufficiently troubled by this news to feel the need to intervene in her decision. This inexplicably irrational action threatens his political career and leads to unsettling encounters with love, longing and regrets which will, inevitably, lead to profound changes in his personal and political life.