The BastardFloris-Jan van Luyn

One day, a Frisian bicycle mechanic gets the unlikely message that he has an Ethiopian half-brother. His name is Daniel and he is on death row in Addis Ababa. This news is the starting point of a disconcerting family history, and of a compelling film about resentment and disappointment, the craving for recognition and the urge for reconciliation.

Daniel is convinced that he would have had a better, crime-free life if his father had not left at the age of three. His Dutch father, however, wants nothing to do with his son, who ended up on death row in Addis Ababa. A DNA test joined these two men forever, though and it turns out that they have more in common than they ever thought.

 

Floris-Jan van Luyn is both a director and a writer and The Bastard is not his first achievement. In 2011 he won the prize for best Science & Conscience documentary for Rainmakers. His later documentary Diary of a Homing Pigeon told the story of a carrier pigeon from the unique narrative perspective of a pigeon. Talking about the film, Luyn said that he does not necessarily stick to reality, but brings a mix of reality and documentary. He uses this style in The Bastard too by looking for the story behind reality. Daniel makes an ultimate attempt to get in touch with his father and to make peace with the past.

 



Remarkable stories Portret

Vertoond op editie(s) 2018
Screened at edition(s) 2018

Info

Directed by Floris-Jan van Luyn
Netherlands
2018 84 min.
Amharic, English and Dutch
Subtitles: English

Programme

International selection

credits
Director

Floris-Jan van Luyn

Producer

Hasse van Nunen, Renko Douze

Cinematography

Stef Tijdink

Editing

Gys Zevenbergen

Music

Benny Jansen, Alex Booy, Jaap van Keulen

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(beschikbaar vanaf 20.03)