26/05/2006

German title The House is Burning, the feature debut by Holger Ernst, was screened out of competition this afternoon. Shot in English and set in the US, the film opens with the words of a teenager (said about his father): “I am going to kill him one day”. Words that foretell a spiral of violence and self-destruction and in turn serve to heighten the intrigue.

The film is the story of a day and a night in the lives of a group of young people faced with the harsh reality of adult life: an overly ambitious drug dealer and his stoned sidekick; a pills addict desperately seeking his first job; a boy preparing to leave the following day for the war in Iraq and his girlfriend who cannot decide whether or not to dump him; absent parents who are violent as well as morally and financially irresponsible. An atmosphere of gloom pervades the film, which is highlighted by the hysterical idiosyncrasies of the characters (and the girls’ unease in regards to sexual matters).

Produced, distributed in Germany and sold internationally by Reverse Angle (Wim Wenders’s company), The House is Burning received funding from the Medienboard Berlin – Bradenburg and the Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA).

Despite their absence from official competition, German films have been very popular this year at Cannes, with Pingpong [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matthias Luthardt
interview: Sebastian Urzendowsky
film profile] by Matthias Luthardt (Critics’ Week, see article) and Summer ’04 by Stefan Krohmer (Directors’ Fortnight) both enjoying positive reactions. This growing trend was confirmed in the festival Market as well, where German companies have had a remarkably dynamic presence.

(Translated from French)