Story
Famed Austrian conductor Otmar Suitner’s affair with a much younger woman resulted in a divided life – he had two different families separated by the Berlin Wall. When Suitner’s grown son rediscovers and reclaims his father’s past – including rare footage of his performances – secrets are uncovered and startling new memories created.
Info
Writer / Director: Igor Heitzmann
Format: documentary feature film
Trailer : Vimeo
Website: www.nachdermusik.de
German cinema release: May 14, 2009
DVD release: February 10, 2012
Available at: Filmkombinat
„The director has created a poignant portrait with tender humorous moments, while at the same time offering an unsentimental view on aging and life's transience."
(Hamburg Evening News)
Further reviews:
„There is this moving family photo of a big man holding the hand of a boy walking away from the camera to somewhere. Father and son who were never really father and son, as the son lived with his mother in the West and the father lived with his wife in the East as renowned and tributed conductor of music. The film is a voyage back in time with father and son (and the two women). It’s without pretentions, full of humor and the son’s ambition to make the father conduct just one more time. Silent beauty, stylistically perfect film and wonderful music!“
(Tue Steen Müller, European Documentary Network)
„A FATHER’S MUSIC also means that now, and only now, is the time for an intensive rapprochement between son (filmmaker Igor Heitzmann) and father. The journey leads across mountains and music – and the march is both cautious and determined. The task (no more, no less) is to face someone who has succeeded in reconciling different aspects. Family and vocation, spontaneous passion and infinite loyalty, as well as a wife in the East and a second female companion in the West (both of whom knew about each other). This difficult life story brings a very special and fragile pathos to every encounter, every word and every glance.”
(Moscow International Film Festival)
„It’s time to continue our journey before we vanish around the bend. Yet as its title suggests, the enthralling documentary A FATHER’S MUSIC is much more than a hagiographic appreciation of Suitner’s career. Four years in the making and a lifetime in the living, A FATHER’S MUSIC is sublime, probing and loving.“
(Eddie Cockrell, Museum of Modern Art)
Featuring:
Otmar Suitner, Marita Suitner, Renate Heitzmann & Igor Heitzmann and the generous participation of Staatskapelle Berlin
Team
Written & directed by: Igor Heitzmann
Edited by: Inge Schneider
Directors of Photography: Rali Raltchev, Hoyte van Hoytema
Camera Assistent: Markus Otto
Sound Engineers: Ulla Kösterke, Ivonne Gärber, Andreas Köppen
Sound Designer: Daniel Iribarren
Sound Mixer: Martin Steyer
Production Manager: Ivette Löcker
Script Consultants: Claudia Tronnier, Stefan Schwietert
Assistant Directors: Reinhild Blaschke, Ivette Löcker
Title Design & Artwork: Katja Clos
Producers: Jens Körner, Oliver Niemeier, Thomas Riedel
Commissioning Editor: Claudia Tronnier
A production of Filmkombinat Nordost Gmbh & Co KG, in co-production with ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel, The German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) & Igor Heitzmann.
Funded by:
Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA), Kulturelle Filmförderung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Land Tirol, Stadt Innsbruck, German Films
