Film On Holmdel Toddler Who Suddenly Died To Have International Premiere

HOLMDEL, NJ — An award-winning documentary about a Holmdel toddler who suddenly passed away in 2017 is headed to Spain this fall.

On Friday, Oct. 16, "VIENNA: Suddenly An Angel" will be screened as an official selection of the Love & Hope International Film Festival (L'HIFF) in Barcelona, Spain, for its international premiere.

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The film will be shown on the big screen at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, in the Scorsese Streets film block at Cinema Maldà in the heart of Barcelona.

The documentary has been nominated for best short documentary, and Marko Albrecht has been nominated for best director of a documentary. A trailer for the film can be seen here.

The film follows Dr. Denise Wunderler and her husband, Dr. Michael Savino, after the sudden and unexplained death of their 2½-year-old daughter, Vienna Carly Savino.

Vienna's passing was categorized as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) — a poorly understood category of death that affects seemingly healthy children from 1–18 years old.

In 2017, Vienna fell asleep watching TV at home in Holmdel, stopped breathing, and was unable to be resuscitated.

Almost nine years later, there is still no cause of death.

Determined to find answers and increase awareness, Dr. Wunderler founded Team Vienna 4 SUDC Awareness, an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit devoted to advocacy, education, research, and honoring Vienna's legacy.

In the documentary, the family's story unfolds through intimate footage, emotional interviews, and medical insights — from their home to leading scientists at Boston Children's Hospital.

"We didn't want Vienna's story to end with her death," said Dr. Wunderler, who is a first-time producer of the film. "We wanted her life to ignite change, to bring awareness to SUDC, and to help other families avoid the pain we now cope with every day."

Directed by Albrecht, "VIENNA: Suddenly an Angel" aims to capture the spirit of a local (Holmdel) and global community rallying around the Wunderler/Savino's, and a family choosing to transform tragic loss into purpose and global action.

Corey O'Neill is the film's editor, and the director of cinematography is Alexander Berg.

Executive producers include Wunderler, Savino, Carl and Hilda Wunderler, and Carol Stillwell of Stillwell-Hansen.

The film won the highly-regarded Audience Award for Best Short Documentary at the Long Island International Film Expo (Long Island, NY), the New Hope Film Festival (New Hope, PA), and the Monmouth Film Festival (at Bell Works, Holmdel, NJ).

It also won Best Homegrown Short Documentary at Diane Raver's Garden State Film Festival (Asbury Park, NJ) at its world premiere last year.

Recently, it won Outstanding Short Documentary at the Shawna Shea Memorial Film Festival (Worcester, MA).

In addition, the documentary was an official selection of the Chelsea Film Festival (Manhattan, NYC) and the Indie Short Film Festival (Charlottesville, VA).

It will return to Jersey next month at the SModcastle Film Festival (Atlantic Highlands, NJ).

L'HIFF is partnered with The North Film Festival in NYC and Madrid, Spain, and the Los Angeles Fantasy Fest in LA, CA.

For tickets to "VIENNA: Suddenly An Angel's" international premiere in Spain, you can click here.