Upstream

En amont du fleuve

Upstream

Marion Hänsel

Homer and Joé, two taciturn men aged around fifty, sail a small boat up a river in Croatia. Until recently, neither knew of the other’s existence, but now their father has died it turns out they are half-brothers. Looking for traces of the man of who shaped their lives so differently, they encounter a third traveller, the mysterious Irishman Sean, and their tour through the wild landscape of Croatia becomes a real psychological challenge.

»Certain people find it difficult to talk about themselves for many different reasons. My characters, Homer and Joé, halfbrothers, are such people. Homer, traumatised by an absent father who ignored his existence, Joé by the violence of this same father. The lack of words, of verbal communication interests me and can be found in a number of my films. The silences, what is left unsaid, leaves room for the spectator’s interpretation, their personal imagination. I like that. As to the narration, I have the impression that I am digging into earth that I already know but that I want to go deeper. If Joé and Homer are half-brothers, it is not by chance. In some of my previous films, blood-ties, filiation, the image of the father or his absence are strongly present. Upstream is part of this same lineage.«
– Marion Hänsel

Director

Marion Hänsel

Script

Hubert Mingarelli, Marion Hänsel

Cinematography

Didier Frateu

Editing

Michèle Hubinon

Sound

Marc Lizier, Paul Gies, Gervaise Demeure

Cast

Olivier Gourmet, Sergi López, John Lynch

Production

Man’s Films Productions

Contact

Doc & Film International

Portrait der Regiseurrin Marion Haensel

Marion Hänsel

Belgian director and producer Marion Hänsel was born in Marseille, and grew up in Antwerp. After studying dramatic arts in Brussels, New York and Paris, in 1977 she set up her own production company (Man’s Films) to make her first short film. Her second feature-length film Dust was awarded the Silver Lion in Venice in 1985; The Maestro won the 1990 Audience Award in San Sebastian. Sounds of Sand has appeared at over fifty festivals worldwide and has received fifteen awards. In addition to working as a director, Hänsel has already co-produced on over thirty productions.


Filme von Marion Hänsel
La tendresse (Tenderness) 2013 | Noir océan (Black Ocean) 2010 | Si le vent soulève les sables (Sounds of Sand) 2006 | Nuages: Lettres à mon fils (Clouds: Letters to My Son) 2001 | The Quarry 1998 | Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 1995 | Sur la terre comme au ciel (Between Heaven and Earth) 1992 | Il maestro (The Maestro) 1990 | Les noces barbares (The Cruel Embrace) 1987 | Dust 1985