LOST CALLs is a poignant short film that delves into the emotional journey of Jade, a young woman desperate for a connection with her absent father, a globe-trotting photographer. Through a series of unanswered voice messages, she tries to bridge the emotional distance, imagining his adventures through foreign landscapes, exotic encounters, and breathtaking sights. As her hope fades, we witness her struggle between longing for a bond and facing the loneliness his absence leaves behind. --- This experimental short film draws on footage from a cultural project initiated by photographer Yan Bighetti de Flogny in collaboration with Misk Art Institute, National Geographic, and UNESCO. Over four years, Yan and I captured scenes across numerous countries, but despite immense effort, the project ultimately never came to fruition, and the planned international exhibition and series I was directing about his journey and photographic process were never realized. After years of filming, I found myself with 40 hard drives full of captivating stories and images, reflecting hours of work, dedication, sacrifice, and sometimes even life-threatening situations. It felt essential to repurpose this extraordinary material to give audiences a glimpse of our work. With the support of everyone involved, I developed this short film, creating a new character (the photographer’s daughter) who brings to light another side of the journey: the experience of those left behind, waiting anxiously for their loved ones to return home safely **DIRECTOR / CINEMATOGRAPHER** DAMIEN STECK **WRITTEN BY** DAMIEN STECK - JULIE MAYOUD **JADE** MAXIME DEBERNARDY **FATHER** YAN BIGHETTI DE FLOGNY **VOICE** SOPHIE BLONDIN **INITIAL FOOTAGE FROM THE PROJECT** AL SAFAR IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF IBN BATTUTA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - UNESCO - MISK ART INSTITUTE - FIRST IDEA **FIELD PRODUCERS** DAVID BOCHU - FANNY FLORIDO - THOMAS CHENESSEAU - GEORGE SUMA **FIXERS** SALES YOUSOFZADA - AFGHANISTAN MOHAMED DAFALOU - ALGERIA IMTAZ AL BELUSHI - BAHRAIN SAIFUDDIN SUJON - BANGLADESH DIMITAR LIBOSKI - BULGARIA LIU WANG - CHINA MAGET ATEF - EGYPT RONALD HIGHTONE - ENGLAND FABRICE DUBILOT - FRANCE PATHOS LITHANUS - GREECE GUDMUNDUR NATHOS - ICELAND SALEEM JAVED - INDIA OMRI BEN-CANAAN - INDONESIA SANGAR KHALEEL - IRAQ AIR LEO - ISRAEL EMEK UTEMISSOV - KAZAKHSTAN LAMEK NYAGUDI - KENYA ABIR HACHEM - LEBANON MAMADOU TAPILY - MALI SABINA COLTO - MEXICO MARHMOUD CILI - MOROCCO OMAR HAMASALEY - NIGER HAMED BRIGNAN - OMAN MOHAMMED NAJIB - PALESTINE ABDULHRAMAN PREMIH - QATAR PAULINE NARYCHKINA - RUSSIA HATIM AZIZ - SAUDI ARABIA ESPERANZA JIMENEZ - SPAIN NIROSHAN WELAGEDARA - SRI LANKA MIA GOLDWEIGHT - SWITZERLAND EUGENE KILIWA - TANZANIA TARAK LAZHARI - TUNISIA SENEL KILINC - TURKEY LAENECK TOILTI - UAE GREG STANTON - USA NIKITA MAKARENKO - UZBEKISTAN SALEH HASSIAM - YEMEN **ADDITIONAL IMAGES** JULIEN PETIT - JULIE MAYOUD **EDITING / COLOR GRADING** DAMIEN STECK **MAKEUP** CAMILLE BRUGGEMAN **WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF** AURELIEN DENHEZ MARIE-ANNE ZOMENO JORIS IMBERT CORENTIN FEROUL EMMELINE MAULET SACHA NOEL SARAH BISGOFA JONATHAN ARDHUIN **MUSICS** **ARISING** ALVARO TURRION - TURRION **AROUND THE BEND** EUGENE GODSOE - EEGO RECORDS **LONG ROAD HOME** EUGENE GODSOE - EEGO RECORDS **THIS IS THE WALK** DAVID O’DOWDA - O’DOWDA **KAZHEH** EUGENE GODSOE - EEGO RECORDS **FIRST & LAST** MARIO KADEN - LEE CASPI - VALICON RECORDS **PLEASE HOLD ME** JULIA ALEXA - INDEPENDENT **BRING ME AN ANGEL** FLORIAN BUR - TUNE OF FANTASY **COLD** JORGE MÉNDEZ - JORGE MÉNDEZ **EXPERIENCE** LUDOVICO EINAUDI - DECCA **IF IT IS LOVE** LAURA ALDEN - LUCKY MOON **SOAR** EUGENE GODSOE - EEGO RECORDS **TOUT IRA BIEN** ADÈLE & ROBIN - DUCHESS PUBLISHING **THANKS** SOPHIE GALIBERT RACHEL KLEIN LATIFA EL MEFTAHI CAMILLE JOURDE CIRYL COURSON MARION PEROLE JADE REBUT-WILLING LAURE TOGOLA JEANNE ZAWADKA MIKE NICKLAS **OUKA STUDIO**
