Director Luisi will be honored with the Film Society's Independent Award, celebrating his exemplary talent as a director and screenwriter, and his contribution to independent film in Europe and beyond. (Click here to read more.)
DESCRIPTION
"A surreal comedy about a man who finds he can't seem to stop leaking sand, Swiss director Peter Luisi's The Sandman is absurdist and whimsical, but with a genuine edge provided by its not entirely likable hero.Benno (Fabian Krüger) is kind of a jerk. He works at a philatelist store, buying stamp collections on the cheap from people who don't know that Uncle George's hobby was worth thousands, steals from his boss, bullies his co-worker and lies to his girlfriend. And he hates his downstairs neighbour, Sandra (Irene Brügger) a young barista with dreams of a musical future whose singing drives him to fits of bad behaviour.Then one day Benno begins to notice that he is, somehow, leaving sandy deposits everywhere he goes. Doctors and friends assure him it is all in his mind, but nonetheless, Benno is leaking, and it's getting worse every day. Luisi takes this amusing, allegorical premise and runs with it, pushing the narrative into new areas as Benno discovers his sand has seemingly magical powers. Luisi's latest comic tale, a story of redemption and dreams with a sting in its tale, looks to be his international breakout." --Vancouver International Film Festival
Rave Reviews
"The most charming movie of the year." --Stuttgarter-Zeitung (Stuttgart, Germany)
"In the dramatic seriousness with which the curious here is treated is the most enjoyable quality of this film." --Christoph Schneider, Tages-Anzeiger(Zurich, Switzerland)
"The Sandman is light-hearted, wonderfully oblique cinema. Even a single scene in "The Sandman" makes the movies worthwhile: It would be an explanation of the most unusual love story of the film." --Serge Kuhn, NeueLuzerner Zeitung (Lucerne, Switzerland)
"A gem of minimalistic absurdity." --Nicole Gluckstern, San Francisco Bay Guardian
"It works! The Sandman is finally a good Swiss film.With a small budget and great courage." --Lukas Rüttimann, Blick(Germany)
VIDEO CLIP
SELECT FESTIVALS & AWARDS
- 3 nominations at 2011 Swiss Film Awards, including Best Picture
- 2011 Audience Award at Filmfestival Max Ophuels Prize, Saarbrücken, Germany
- 2011 Solothurn Film Festival, Switzerland
- 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival
- 2011 Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, San Francisco
- 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Director Peter Luisi has attracted attention with his feature films Verflixt Verliebt (Crazy Love Crazy), Love Made Easy and The Sandman, as well as being co-author of Fredi Murer’s Vitus. His films have earned the Zurich Film Prize, 8 nominations for the Swiss Film Prize, the Grant Award, and the Audience Prize at Max Ophül Filmfestival.
FILM: THUR. 01/12 at 7:00PM
Stockton Empire Theatre
PARTY: THUR. 01/12 at 9:00PM
University Plaza Waterfront Hotel
CAST AND CREW
Director: Peter Luisi Screenwriter: Peter Luisi Producers: David Luisi, Peter Luisi Cinematographer: Lorenz Merz Editor: Claudio Cea Music: Martin Skalsky, Christian Schlumpf, Michael Duss Cast: Fabian Krüger, Irene Brügger, Beat Schlatter, Florine Elena Deplazes
