Film Pulse Selects

This is Me by Alexander Milo Bischof

From Film Pulse Editor Adam Patterson: Bischof crafts a simple story with minimal exposition, yet expresses a wonderful amount of emotional heft.

DIRECTED by: Alexander Milo Bischof

An estranged father returns home to attend his son’s wedding in an attempt to face the past and make amends.

Five Questions with Director Alexander Milo Bischof

What was a unique challenge you faced in making this film?

I’m used to making films on a tight budget but for this production we had barely any money available and really had to fight to make it work. This meant working with a very small crew (the basics, really: DoP, sound, make-up). The shoot took place in a hotel room in South East London and we only had enough money to hire the bedroom for one day. To make things worse, they were carrying out refurbishments in the hotel at the time and we had to constantly wait for the drilling to stop in order not to jeopardize sound. But I am really happy with how the film turned out, considering the circumstances.

Where did the inspiration for this film come from?

I always wanted to make a film set in a single location and I felt that this story was the perfect opportunity. I am fascinated by the infinite characters living in our society and how we all struggle with something in our every day lives. In this case, we look at the character of Gerald, who is forced to face the past when he is invited back into the community that once ostracised him for who he was (and is). I felt it was important to witness Gerald’s transformation in order to truly understand his fear of being judged. Ultimately, Gerald’s situation applies to all of us, in the way that we are who we are and we shouldn’t strive for acceptance, nor should we rely on other peoples’ judgements.

Who are your top influences? I try to make films with a good balance between interesting visuals, strong characters and real life narratives. So the obvious influences would be PTA, Sorrentino and pretty much most European auteurs such as Haneke, Bier, von Trier, Östlund, Audiard, Vinterberg, etc.

What do you hope people take away from this film?

If this film makes people think or sparks a conversation, that’s all I could hope for.

What’s your personal takeaway from this production?

The importance of great collaboration.