A Family Affair

Original Title: A Family Affair

110' | 2015 (Completed)

Watch trailer

All images & Videos

(5 images)

Director:	Tom Fassaert
Producer:	Antoine Vermeesch, Hanne Phlypo
Writer:	Tom Fassaert

Full credits

Director Tom Fassaert receives an unexpected invitation from his enigmatic South African-based 95-year-old grandmother...

synopsis

On his 30th birthday, Tom Fassaert receives a mysterious invitation from his 95-year-old grandmother, Marianne. Out of the blue, she asks him to come to South Africa to help her with her will. At that time, the only things he knows about her are the myths and predominantly negative stories his father told him. She was a femme fatale who went through countless men, a famous model in the 1950s who put her two sons into a children's home and a mother who suddenly decided to emigrate to South Africa, far away from the rest of her family.Fassaert decides to accept her invitation, but not without bringing his camera along. Through his lens, we discover what lies behind persistent myths and why his grandmother still has such a huge influence on the family. But when he himself becomes the object of her obsession, his venture becomes more complicated than he could ever have imagined.
'Marianne Hertz: mannequin én ideale moeder', zo wordt de oma van filmmaker Tom Fassaert in een vrouwenblad uit de jaren vijftig gepresenteerd. Zijn vader, oom en tante lachen er een beetje ongemakkelijk bij wanneer hij hen het artikel laat voorlezen. Hun kindertijd was verre van ideaal – de twee zoons belandden al jong in een kindertehuis – en de relatie met hun inmiddels 95-jarige moeder is nog altijd problematisch. Niet lang nadat zijn vader het contact met haar verbreekt, krijgt Tom van Marianne een uitnodiging om haar te bezoeken in Zuid-Afrika, waar ze jaren geleden een nieuw leven begon. Hij vertrekt en neemt zijn camera mee, in de hoop de ontbrekende puzzelstukjes van de familiegeschiedenis daar te vinden. Waarom is er van beide kanten zoveel teleurstelling en verwijt? En waarom is daar nooit echt over gesproken? Maar terwijl Marianne zich de interesse in haar persoon met gretigheid laat welgevallen, wijst ze alles wat te maken heeft met “die familie-affaire” vierkant af. Oma laat zich niet regisseren en onttrekt zich op volkomen onverwachte en verbluffende wijze aan de rol waarop haar kleinzoon juist probeert scherp te stellen: die van moeder en grootmoeder.

Credits

Director
Tom Fassaert
Producer
Antoine Vermeesch, Hanne Phlypo
Writer
Tom Fassaert
Editing
Claudio Hughes
Photography
Tom Fassaert

Format

Creation details

Type
Film
Category
Doc
Production share
Minority Flemish co-production
Belgium
Genre
Year of production

2015
Production status
Completed
Original title
A Family Affair

Technical specs

Running time
110'
Available in
2D
Aspect ratio
1.66:1 (5:3)
Sound format
stereo (2.0)
Available formats
DCP
Colour
Colour

Contact & sales

Contact

Clin d'oeil films (Brussel)

Engelandstraat 53
1060 Brussel
Belgium

info@clindoeilfilms.be

www.clindoeilfilms.be

Details
Sales

ro*co films

Liberty Ship Way, Suite 8 80
US-94965 Sausalito
United States of America

T +1 415 332 6471
info@rocofilms.com

www.rocofilms.com

Festivals & awards

Festivals

2015: International Competition - IDFA/International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (NL)

Awards

2016: Special Jury Award - Millenium Documentary Film Festival Brussels (BE); Best Film Award - It's All True Brazil (BR); Best Film Award - Biografilm Bologna (IT); Best Documentary Award - Sopot International Film Festival (PL); Audience Award - Faito Doc Film Festival (IT); Golden Nanook Award for Best Film - Festival Flahertiana (RU); Best Feature Documentary Award - Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Fest (UK); Special Jury Award - Zürich Film Festival (CH); Gouden Kalf for Best Feature Length Documentary - Nederlands Film Festival (NL); PerSo Masterpiece Award for Best Feature - PerSo Film Festival (IT); Dutch Directors Guild Award for Best Documentary (NL); Kristallen Film [more than 20.000 admissions in the Netherlands] (NL)2015: Special Jury Award Dutch Competition - IDFA/International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (NL)

Partners

Co-production partners

Conijn Films, Roco Films, Danish Documentary Film Production

Supported by

Nederlands Film Fonds, MediaFonds, Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), Blue Ice Fund

Videos & images

Press kits

No media & press content available.

Can we help you?

Contact Flanders Image

Find creations

Switch to advanced search Switch to simple search

Specified in minutes

Yes No

* Use the advanced search to find audiovisual creations made in Flanders and Brussels.

Your selection

Sales agent No sales agent

creations found:

| |

More details

All search results loaded!

A Family Affair

synopsis

Credits

Director

Producer

Writer

Editing

Photography

Format

Creation details

Type

Category

Production share

Genre

Year of production

Production status

Original title

Technical specs

Running time

Available in

Aspect ratio

Sound format

Available formats

Colour