Charly is stuck in a children’s hospital for weeks on end. She looses her childlike spirit and is only longing to go outside to play in the snowy park. But her treatment prevents her to interact with the outside world. Nothing seems to cheer Charly up, until Lana, another patient, manages to make it snow in Charly’s room. Magic or imagination? It doesn’t matter because even if it’s only for a moment, everything seems to be better for Charly.

Director’s Vision for ‘Snowflakes’

The stories I’m most passionate about sit at the intersection of entertainment and social impact, which is what drew me to co-writing and directing Snowflakes. It was important to me that this wasn’t just a story showing two girls going through a difficult time, but for the film to be a reminder that there are moments of hope, joy, and magic when we least expect to find them.

We contacted Disney’s Make-A-Wish foundation in the U.S., Germany and Switzerland to collaborate with us on this film to enable Wish Kids, ambassadors, and survivors to lend their voices to some of these characters. For the English version, we were lucky enough to work with 10-year-old cancer survivor Violet Spataro and three-time double-lung transplant recipient, Travis Flores, who made this an incredibly authentic experience. Violet had a lot of similarities with Lana, since she also actively hands out toys and cheers up other children battling cancer.

In Switzerland, we worked with an 8-year-old girl and her younger sister, who has been fighting cancer since birth. Just like our character Charly, she was stuck inside for weeks on-end while receiving chemotherapy, wishing that she could play outside in the snow. In Germany, we worked with two 7-year-old girls with Muscular Dystrophy, who were incredibly excited to be part of a film that reflected their experiences in the hospital. The children brought life and authenticity to the story, and their parents gave invaluable feedback and perspectives.