Film Archive

My Father's House

Official Selection - Out of Competition 2013 / Das Haus meines Vaters / Austria 2013

A car stands parked in the middle of a meadow, and a woman brings the driver his morning coffee. Who are these people, and why did the man apparently sleep away from home when someone close to him was nearby? Despite the fact that something fundamental is going on inside its protagonist, this serene film, playing out in a series of long shots, draws its strength from the absence of "ordinary” drama.

Synopsis

A woman brings coffee to a man sleeping in a car. The overall calm atmosphere, however, is accompanied by a touch of uncertainty. Why did the man spend the night in the middle of a meadow? What is the relationship between these two people? What might the man’s destination be when, even though he seems to be in a familiar place, it’s clear he’s somewhat at a loss? Although it treats the unnerving topic of addressing past accounts, the film seems rather to work with suggestion and an air of serenity that gradually give rise to more concrete information. Employing a unique perspective, this evocative and distinctive picture doesn’t seek to uncover hidden interests and subtexts – it "simply” allows time to flow by, without resorting to explicit dramatic effects. In their absence, even the impression of solitude is merely intuited, but extremely tangible nevertheless. The movie, which evokes the uncomfortable feeling that we’re home yet at the same time we feel out of place, was shot in real time with a significant dose of actor improvisation. And the role played in the story by the eponymous old house is far from negligible.

About the film

63 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Ludwig Wüst / Screenplay Ludwig Wüst / Dir. of Photography Klemens Koscher / Editor Samuel Käppeli / Producer Ludwig Wüst / Production Film-pla.net / Cast Nenad Smigoc, Martina Spitzer / Contact sixpackfilm, Austrian Films

About the director

Ludwig Wüst (b. 1965) is an Austrian screenwriter, director, and producer who hails from Bavaria. He studied acting and singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Whereas he directed theater in Frankfurt and Berlin, in Leipzig and Vienna he directed opera. His raw picture Koma (2009) provoked great interest and was shown at countless film festivals. Selected additional filmography: Egyptian Eclipse (Ägyptische Finsternis, 2002), Two Women (Zwei Frauen, 2006), and Tape End (2011) – an hour-long film using just one shot. The short film PASOLINICODE02112011 (2012) premiered exclusively over the internet.