Archive of films House of Sand and Fog / House of Sand and Fog

USA
2003, 126 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2004

Because of bureaucratic zeal and her own tardiness, Kathy Lazar loses the bungalow which, after a break-up with her husband and treatment for alcoholism, becomes her home. The house is bought at auction by an Iranian immigrant named Behrani. But Kathy does not intend to surrender her home. This psychological thriller is a story about the confrontation of two dreams.

Synopsis

After surviving hell in the form of a cure for alcoholism and the break-up of her marriage, Kathy Lazar takes refuge in a small bungalow on the northern California coast. She lives alone, working as a cleaner, and tries to pull herself out of depression. Colonel Behrani is an Iranian who, after the rise of the new regime, had to leave his highly-placed military post and quickly emigrate with his wife Nadi and their children. In the USA their rapidly disappearing family finances can provide Nadi and their adolescent son Esmail with a mere reflection of their former lifestyle. To supplement their income Behrani accepts a degrading job as a roadway worker. But when Kathy´s house goes up for auction, thanks to bureaucratic zeal and her own tardiness, the Colonel lunges at the chance of buying it cheap. The young woman, however, does not intend to surrender her home. In this psychological story, the confrontation of two dreams changes into a war in which no one will triumph.

About the director

Vadim Perelman (b. 1963, Kiev) emigrated with his mother at the age of fourteen. Before settling in Canada, they experienced hard times in Vienna and Rome. He went on to study film at Ryerson University in Toronto. The immigrant´s difficult assimilation and oppressive feelings of isolation, even in a relatively friendly democratic society, became the theme of his directorial debut - an adaptation of American writer Andre Dubus III´s novel House of Sand and Fog (a 1999 finalist for the prestigious National Book Award). Perelman won the Best Debut Award from the National Board of Review for a film he also co-wrote and coproduced. The movie was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, and Ben Kingsley, Shohreh Aghdashloo and James Horner were nominated for Oscars. 

Contacts

Bioscop (Magicbox a.s.)
Na Klikovce 7, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 221 436 100
Fax: +420 221 436 305
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.bioscop.cz

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Vadim Perelman
Screenplay:	Vadim Perelman, Shawn Lawrence Otto, podle románu / based on a novel by Andre Dubus III
Dir. of Photography:	Roger Deakins, David Stockton
Music:	James Horner
Editor:	Lisa Zeno Churgin
Producer:	Vadim Perelman, Michael London
Production:	DreamWorks, koprodukce / co-production: Cobalt Media Group
Cast:	Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Frances Fisher, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Contact:	Bioscop (Magicbox a.s.)

www:	www.dreamworks.com/houseofsandandfog

Guests

Tomáš Hoffman

Producer