Bringing In the Wood

A son visits his father to help with wood-work. During their work and conversations there is some kind of distance between them to which they got used to during the years. Later the son misses his bus so they have to spend the evening together. (prod. note)


Bringing In the Wood, carried by a concise pictorial language and exact dramaturgy, condenses partial aspects of discrepancies between the generations to a precise staging and character study. A student living in Vienna visits his father to help him with the annual wood delivery. The father first proudly shows him the new heating equipment in the cellar of the house. Meters of wood are then loaded off the back of a truck. They have to be piled up log by log in the wood cellar.
Without rebelling against the entrenched, apparently unalterable family fabric, the son obeys his father’s orders. The chance for more in-depth conversation during a break is not taken. Despite the noticeable effort, their dialogue remains superficial and trivial. Only rarely is a genuine interest in one another shown; the father’s incessant complaints and egoistic call for help imply a considerable disdain for student life and his son’s needs. Although these roles seem to have become unstable in the meantime, the collision of two different value systems is unmistakable at all times.
The precise character drawing of the obedient, at times indifferent son and his demanding father translates into a plain and trenchant formal language. With the help of minimal cuts and perseverance in long takes, Bringing In the Wood offers also a visual representation of its atmosphere of arduousness and resignation. The son misses the last bus and in the end has to stay overnight at his parent’s house. He goes to bed early. His father, on the contrary, returns to his everyday routine and spends a bit of time in front of the television.
(Matthias K. Heschl)
(Translation: Lisa Rosenblatt)

Orig. Title
Holz einräumen
Year
2014
Country
Austria
Duration
17 min
Director
Simon Spitzer
Category
Short fiction
Orig. Language
German
Subtitles
English
Downloads
Credits
Director
Simon Spitzer
Script
Simon Spitzer
Cinematography
Serafin Spitzer
Camera Assistant
Christian Flatzek, Bernhard Roschitz, Gabriel Krajanek
Sound
Gerd Jochum
Editing
Roland Stöttinger
Sound Design
Simon Spitzer, Gerd Jochum
Dramaturgical Advisor
Kathrin Resetarits
Actor/Actress
Max Stern, Arthur Klammer, Franz Scheidl
Art Direction
Winnie Küchl, Johanna Ralser
Lighting
Marie-Therese Zumtobel, Gabriel Krajanek
Executive Producer
Johannes Schmidt
Production Assistance
Catrin Freundlinger
Assistant Director
Wolf-Maximilian Liebich
Supported by
cash for culture, Wien Kultur, Land Kärnten
Available Formats
DCP 2K flat (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Sound Format
stereo
Frame Rate
25 fps
Color Format
colour
Digital File (prores, h264) (Distribution Copy)
Festivals (Selection)
2014
Hamburg - Int. Kurzfilm-Festival & No Budget
Viennale - Vienna Int. Film Festival
Wels - YOUKI Youth Media Festival
2015
Wr. Neustadt - Frontale Kurzfilmfestival
Stuttgart - Filmwinter, Expanded Media Festival
Beirut - NDU International Film Festival
Busan - Intern Short Film Festival
2016
Tallinn - Sleepwalker Festival / Black Nights Film Festival (Winner Sleepwalkers Student Competition)
Bamberg - Kurzfilmtage
Nordringa - Hogakusten Film Festival