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Father makes film to track down missing daughter who was kidnapped by her mother a decade ago
A father whose daughter was abducted by her own mother ten years ago has made a film in a desperate bid to track her down.
Reya Lunetta was kidnapped aged two, by her mother Camilla Ellefsen amid a fraught custody battle with Reya's American father Brozzi Lunetta in 2002.
Reya Lunetta, now 11, was abducted at the age of two by her mother Camilla Ellefsen
Mr Lunetta, a director, spent more than a decade looking for Reya and has now made a film about his search in the hope that she will be able to find him.
The film, entitled Reya, is described by Mr Lunetta as 'a fictional film with moments of
undeniable truth' and uses some of Mr Lunetta's home videos of Ellefsen in L.A. 11 years ago.
He says that the 'common goal' of those working on the movie, which will be screened for the first time in Stockholm in April, is 'to find Reya by reaching out to as many as possible with this film.'
Actors such as Yohanna Idha, who won best actress at the Stockholm International Film Festival in 2011, have worked on the film for free.
The plot follows the story of a detective who starts to believe a 20-year-old murder victim is his daughter who went missing years earlier.
‘It's a tough movie, it's a beautiful movie. It's my way to use a fictional tale to get the story out there again, to remind people that my daughter is still missing and perhaps if we could get Camilla's face out there it would lead to new information.’
He told the Herald Sun: ‘Reya's birthday and the ten-year anniversary of her abduction were incredibly difficult.
'I'm holding on but it's been a pretty exhausting experience. The reason I want to share my life story is so that my daughter can find me.'
Ellefsen, 40, fled to Norway and India before taking Reya to Perth in February 2004 with a Norwegian passport. There has since been a series of sightings of the mother and daughter in south-east Queensland and northern NSW.
Mr Lunetta has visited Australia three times in search of Reya and is planning a fourth trip once the film has been released.
But there is uncertainty as to whether Reya and his former wife, who is wanted by the FBI & Interpol for felony child abduction, are still in Australia.
Mr Lunetta has received conflicting statements from Australian and Norwegian police who both claim the pair are not in their country.
‘It's literally been police officials telling somebody to tell me, off the record, that she's gone.'
Mr Lunetta, now based in Norway, was awarded sole custody of Reya after his ex-wife failed to comply with a court order related to custody arrangements.
But he said he was not seeking to exclude Ellefsen from Reya's life.
He added: ‘I was never looking for sole custody. It's always been about giving her more love not less love.'
The AFP referred all inquiries to the Attorney General's Department.
The department issued a statement that said it ‘does not confirm or provide comment on Hague child abduction cases to protect the privacy of those involved’.
A father whose daughter was abducted by her own mother ten years ago has made a film in a desperate bid to track her down.
Reya Lunetta was kidnapped aged two, by her mother Camilla Ellefsen amid a fraught custody battle with Reya's American father Brozzi Lunetta in 2002.
Reya Lunetta, now 11, was abducted at the age of two by her mother Camilla Ellefsen
Mr Lunetta, a director, spent more than a decade looking for Reya and has now made a film about his search in the hope that she will be able to find him.
The film, entitled Reya, is described by Mr Lunetta as 'a fictional film with moments of
undeniable truth' and uses some of Mr Lunetta's home videos of Ellefsen in L.A. 11 years ago.
He says that the 'common goal' of those working on the movie, which will be screened for the first time in Stockholm in April, is 'to find Reya by reaching out to as many as possible with this film.'
Actors such as Yohanna Idha, who won best actress at the Stockholm International Film Festival in 2011, have worked on the film for free.
The plot follows the story of a detective who starts to believe a 20-year-old murder victim is his daughter who went missing years earlier.
‘It's a tough movie, it's a beautiful movie. It's my way to use a fictional tale to get the story out there again, to remind people that my daughter is still missing and perhaps if we could get Camilla's face out there it would lead to new information.’
He told the Herald Sun: ‘Reya's birthday and the ten-year anniversary of her abduction were incredibly difficult.
'I'm holding on but it's been a pretty exhausting experience. The reason I want to share my life story is so that my daughter can find me.'
Ellefsen, 40, fled to Norway and India before taking Reya to Perth in February 2004 with a Norwegian passport. There has since been a series of sightings of the mother and daughter in south-east Queensland and northern NSW.
Mr Lunetta has visited Australia three times in search of Reya and is planning a fourth trip once the film has been released.
But there is uncertainty as to whether Reya and his former wife, who is wanted by the FBI & Interpol for felony child abduction, are still in Australia.
Mr Lunetta has received conflicting statements from Australian and Norwegian police who both claim the pair are not in their country.
‘It's literally been police officials telling somebody to tell me, off the record, that she's gone.'
Mr Lunetta, now based in Norway, was awarded sole custody of Reya after his ex-wife failed to comply with a court order related to custody arrangements.
But he said he was not seeking to exclude Ellefsen from Reya's life.
He added: ‘I was never looking for sole custody. It's always been about giving her more love not less love.'
The AFP referred all inquiries to the Attorney General's Department.
The department issued a statement that said it ‘does not confirm or provide comment on Hague child abduction cases to protect the privacy of those involved’.
