Variety's Ten Euro Directors to Watch 2012 / Hemel / Netherlands, Spain 2012
A tale of a young woman’s compulsive and transgressive sexual behavior, Hemel at first feels like a Dutch female version of Shame. But unlike Shame, helmer Sacha Polak’s debut pays equal attention to the complex family bonds that underlie its protagonist’s psychological makeup and inform her actions.
A tale of a young woman’s compulsive and transgressive sexual behavior that features ample shots of its characters’ nether regions, Hemel at first feels like a Dutch female version of Shame. But helmer Sacha Polak’s debut pays equal attention to the complex family bonds that underlie its protag’s psychological makeup and inform her actions. Hemel (which means "Heaven” in Dutch) knows that her bond with her father is rock-solid, though both are unaware that their rapport often feels closer to a de-facto marriage than a healthy parent-offspring relationship. This beautifully lensed look at the moment just before a daughter has to let go of her father belongs to stunning newcomer Hannah Hoekstra. Her Hemel is impulsive and rude, supremely confident but also fragile and needy. Winner, FIPRESCI Award, Berlinale 2012.
80 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Sacha Polak
/ Screenplay Helena van der Meulen
/ Dir. of Photography Daniël Bouquet N.S.C.
/ Music Rutger Reinders
/ Editor Axel Skovdal Roelofs
/ Producer Stienette Bosklopper
/ Production Circe Films BV
/ Cast Hannah Hoekstra, Hans Dagelet, Rifka Lodeizen, Mark Rietman, Barbara Sarafian
/ Contact Media Luna New Films UG
Sacha Polak (b. 1982, Amsterdam) graduated from the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in 2006 with the short film Teer, which screened at numerous international film festivals. Then followed the shorts El Mourrabi (2007) and Drang (2008), and the medium-length film Under the Table (2008). In 2009 she took part in the Directors’ Lab organized by the Binger Filmlab international development center. Hemel is her first feature.
Media Luna New Films UG
Aachener Strasse 24, 506 74, Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49 221 510 918 91
Fax: +49 221 510 918 99
E-mail: [email protected]
Sacha Polak
Film Director
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