Locarno Official Selection - Concorso Cineasti del presente
(trailer)
“The audio design by Andrew Siedenburg and Nikolay Antonov is thus an inescapably crucial part of the film’s impact. “
Screen Daily, Family Portrait: Locarno Review
“Indeed, there’s a surreal side to Family Portrait, although the film also feels hyperreal in places, with sound designers Nikolay Antonov and Andrew Siedenburg turning up the mix at key moments. When leaves rustle, it’s like a tidal wave suddenly washing over the land. At other times the sound almost drops out completely, plunging the viewer into a troubling void.”
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
Press:
https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/family-portrait-locarno-review/5184734.article
https://inreviewonline.com/2023/08/11/family-portrait/
https://icsfilm.org/reviews/locarno-2023-review-family-portrait-lucy-kerr/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/family-portrait-review-lucy-kerr-1235559688/
https://universalcinema.ca/family-portrait-kerrs-dazzling-frame-on-the-screen/
https://journeyintocinema.com/family-portrait-review/
Set at the dawn of Covid-19, Family Portrait follows a big Texas family on a morning when they have planned a picture for their annual Christmas Card at their Guadalupe river property. As the film progresses, one of the daughters, Katy, and her Polish boyfriend, Olek, become increasingly anxious to take the picture, as they must head to the airport afterwards. As Katy seeks to find her suddenly vanished mother and assemble her family for the photo op, her family, spiraling into idle conversations, dispersed amongst the sprawling property, appear to resist any attempt to gather. Historically, family portraits exist as an endeavor to immortalize the family institution, yet, according to Roland Barthes, in this futile attempt one also realizes one's mortality. In Family Portrait, as the family falls away from one another and as Katy loses herself, it is as if death is what this family cannot come to terms with.
Written and Directed by: Lucy Kerr
Producer: NSF, Megan Pickrell
Director of Photography: Lidia Nikonova
Editor: Karlis Bergs
Directorial Advisor: Rob Rice
Production Sound Mixer: Andrew Siedenburg
Sound Design: Andrew Siedenburg, Nikolay Antonov
Re-recording Mixer: Nikolay Antonov
Featuring: Deragh Campbell, Chris Galust, Rachel Alig, Katie Folger, Robert Salas, Silvana Jakich, Veronica Cinibulk, Ed Hattaway, Vanessa Cetodal, Christian Huey, Les Weiler, David McGuff, Miriam Spumpkin, and Luke, Gray, Rhett, and Magnolia Picarazzi