UK, France

Synopsis

Anthony, 82 years old, faces the loss of his world, while his daughter tries to help him through his last journey.

Director's Statement

THE FATHER first existed as a play. I wrote it for Robert Hirsch in 2012. He incarnated it on stage for over three years in a masterful manner. I was by his side during that entire time, and I am now able to say that I know this story from the inside, and that I ignore nothing of the paths it takes nor the emotions that it conjures up. From then on, it was performed in over 35 different countries, and I have been lucky enough to follow most of these productions. What really hit me, no matter in which country, was the audience’s formidable response to the play. The story addresses a distressing subject, yet one that concerns us all. We have all detected in a grandparent, a parent, or someone equally as dear to us, the first worrisome signs of loss of reason. And who doesn’t then question him or herself, heavy-hearted, on the passing of time and what it will personally yield?

But I also think that the audience’s response was so strong because the play used an original narrative strategy: the audience found itself in the protagonist’s mind, but it only discovered that gradually.

And so, in the movie, the audience is invited to witness, first-hand the experience of dementia. And I would like the movie to preserve this immediacy for the audience. Additionally, since it is dear to me that both movie and the script are expansive, I asked Christopher Hampton to adapt it for the screen.

Director's Biography

Florian Zeller is a French writer and director. He has written more than 10 plays, which have been staged in more than 45 countries. His black-comedy play THE FATHER is one of the outstanding hits of recent years. It has won several awards in Paris, London, and New York. THE FATHER is his first film as a director.

FILMOGRAPHY:
2021 – THE FATHER
 | 

Cast & Crew

Directed by: Florian Zeller

Written by: Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton

Produced by: Philippe Carcassonne, Jean-Louis Livi, David Parfitt

Cinematography: Ben Smithard

Editing: Yorgos Lamprinos

Production Design: Peter Francis

Costume Design: Anna Robins

Make-Up & Hair: Tahira Herold, Nadia Stacey

Original Score: Ludovico Einaudi

Sound: Will Whale

Visual Effects: Ludivine Ducrocq

Cast: Anthony Hopkins (Anthony), Olivia Colman (Anne)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Screenwriter 2021
  • European Actor 2021
  • European Director 2021
  • European Film 2021
  • Feature Film Selection 2021