Western
March 14th, 2019

Courtesy of press kit:

An intense, slow-burning thriller, Western follows a group of German construction workers installing a hydroelectric plant in remote rural Bulgaria. The foreign land awakens the men’s sense of adventure, but tensions mount when Meinhard, the strong, silent newcomer to the group, starts mixing with the local villagers. The two sides speak different languages and share a troubled history. Can they learn to trust each other—or is the stage being set for a showdown?

With sweeping cinematography and tightly modulated pacing, Western tells a universal story of masculinity and xenophobia on the contemporary frontier of Eastern Europe. Drawing remarkably nuanced performances from a cast of non-professionals, Valeska Grisebach uses the trappings of the western genre to poke and prod at current anxieties about borders and our relationships with our neighbors.

Tidbits:

• Cannes Film Festival – 2017 – Un Certain Regard
• Venice Film Festival – 2017
• New York Film Festival – 2017
• AFI Fest – 2017

“Research can feel very adventurous, and at the same time, because you meet many different people, it creates this community. For me, this is the most beautiful part of filmmaking. Research is the ground that the film is standing on, and for me filmmaking is really about getting in contact with somebody, something, the world.”

Courtesy of website:

Valeska Grisebach’s directorial debut, Be My Star (2001), earned a FIPRESCI Prize special mention at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Torino Film Festival’s main prize. Her second feature film, Longing (2006), received many awards at international festivals, including the Special Jury Award in Buenos Aires, the Grand Prix of Asturias at the Gijón International Film Festival, and the Special Jury Award at the Warsaw International Film Festival. Her latest, Western (2017), made its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and has received awards from several international festivals.

Filmography:

• Western (2017)
• Longing (2006)
• Be My Star (2001)

Here is a curated selection of links shared on our Facebook page for additional insight/information:

• 3/11/19 – #5: “Western is a compassionately unsparing dissection of masculinity and the dynamics of all-male groups by a woman filmmaker. Its relationship to the western genre is multifaceted, from the wildly majestic landscapes to the ambivalent, sometimes hostile and sometimes tenderly curious relationships between outsiders and natives, arrogant modernity and traditional community.” Imogen Sara Smith, Film Comment magazine – link
• 3/13/19 – “One of the films of the year has arrived – maybe the best of the year – a work of unmatched subtlety, complexity and artistry.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian – link