Faced with dilemmas in their everyday lives, clients in “Wishing on a Star” turn to the guidance of astrology. The hybrid documentary screened at the 2025 True/False Film Fest, directed by Peter Kerekes gives a closer look into the complexities of normal people.

Set in Italy, the opening scene begins with a family – a woman, her husband and their adult daughter– throwing wooden furniture and household appliances out of a high window. As they burn the pile to signify a fresh start to a new year, the woman, Luciana, makes a wish that she will sell her house and move to Naples.

Luciana is an astrologer, and she is sought out by people unhappy in their current lives. After listening to their stories, she analyzes their birth charts to help her clients become “reborn” on their birthdays. The clients must travel to a location where the stars align to experience their rebirth and live anew. 

The film focuses on five of these clients. The first, an aging funeral director, tries to find a wife under the watchful eye of his opinionated mother. The next clients are a set of twins– one is invested in the other’s life, and hopes her twin will find love and give birth to a child they can share. A wife is no longer satisfied in her marriage with her butcher husband; an older woman trades her freedom to care for her overbearing mother; and a daughter seeks to heal a relationship with her estranged father. 

The astrological readings point clients to places all over the world, like Lebanon, Taiwan and Alaska. The rebirth method is more reliant on the mood of the destination, rather than the travel itself. During consultation sessions in her office, Luciana sells the idea by encouraging her clients to envision themselves experiencing their city of rebirth. 

As they prepare to embark on their vacations, many find their lives changed by happenstance. The funeral director begins an unlikely relationship with another funeral director, and the older woman is arrested for trespassing into a lake. The daughter reconnects with her father and his music, and the unhappy wife “travels” to Alaska by outfitting her home with ice buckets, a tent and a life-size polar bear figurine. After returning from the trip, a twin decides to begin fertility treatments.

“Wishing on a Star” showcases the stories with cinematic flair as the characters travel through their respective cities. Wide shots capture everyday landscapes, and striking colors lay amongst subtle background hues. Easy silence sandwiches between mellow instrumentals, natural sounds and amusing conversations.

Apart from her chart readings, Luciana’s guidance and advice are central to the characters’ self-discovery. 

“She’s really a very good psychotherapist,” Kerekes said in a Q&A on Sunday. “She listens to you, never judges you and asks meaningful questions. She’s never forcing or pushing the clients to change their life.”

We also catch a glimpse into Luciana’s own desires, and she finds herself in the client’s chair at the end of the film. As her daughter reads her chart, Luciana finally fulfills her dreams of moving to Naples.

The film’s natural rhythm allows viewers to settle into the clients’ journeys as they decide to take control of their lives and embark on their rebirth vacations. Although we briefly follow along with their lives, the film ends without conclusions to the storylines.

“It was an important question, ‘When to finish the movie?’ because it would be really interesting to follow them for more years,”Kerekes said. “But I found that the peak of the film is the moment when they are making [that] decision.”

The ensemble of clients are in different stages of life, yet their lives fit snugly alongside each other – the characters are linked together in their shared journeys toward finding themselves. Through artfully executed visuals, “Wishing on a Star” highlights poignant stories to create a stunning, heartfelt portrait of humanity’s complications and simplicities.

You can keep up with The Maneater’s 2025 True/False Film Fest coverage here.

Edited by Molly Levine | mlevine@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com