El Father Plays Himself

Venezuelan film

El Father Plays Himself

Poster

Directed by| Mo Scarpelli
Produced by| Manon Ardisson
Rodrigo Michelangeli
Edward Power
Gordon Annie
Justin Madhany
Bart van den Broek
Zane Dawood
Joe Torres
Phoebe Hall
Starring| Jorge Roque Thielen H.
Jorge Thielen Armand
Cinematography| Mo Scarpelli
Edited by| Juan Soto

Production
companies

Ardimages UK
La Faena Films
Rake Films
Channel 6 Media

Countries| Venezuela
United Kingdom
Italy
United States
Language| Spanish

El Father Plays Himself is a 2020 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Mo Scarpelli,[1] an Italian-American filmmaker. It premiered at the 51º Visions du Réel[2] and it’s a co-production between Venezuela, United Kingdom, Italy and the United States.[3] The movie follows the filming of La Fortaleza, a movie about a son who goes back to his native country to tell the story of his father, who at the same time plays the main character in the film.

## Plot

[edit]

Jorge Thielen Armand[4] is a young filmmaker who left Venezuela, his home country, when he was 15 years old. Years later, as an adult in 2019, he decided to go back, specifically to the Amazon jungle, with the only goal of telling the story of his father in a deeply personal film. Jorge Roque Thielen, the director's father, plays himself in the feature.

In the movie it is easily perceived that fiction and reality intertwine. The theme of El Father Plays Himself shows an act of love and ambition that transforms into a difficult process during the filming, which forces both father and son to face their past and make peace with it. In the words of the director, “it is the clash of fear and love”.[5]

## Cast

[edit]

* Jorge Roque Thielen H.
* Jorge Thielen Armand

## Reception

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Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that El Father Plays Himself was "a tantalizing house of mirrors"[6] and Emiliano Granada of Variety expressed that he found it "a deeply human portrayal".[7] Joshua Brunsting of Criterion Cast said: "there’s a lyricism and poetry to the filmmaking, allowing for viewers to become completely immersed into Scarpelli’s rumination on filmmaking, family and loss... Sincerely one of the best films of 2020".[8]

Additionally, it received the Special Mention at the 51st edition of Visions du Réel,[9] at the Perso Film Festival,[10] and at the 22nd edition of the Lucania Film Festival.[11] It was in the IDFA Best of Festivals Selection[12] and was the Opening Night Film at the Cucalorus Film Festival.[13] It was also the 2020 Torino Film Lab Audience Design Fund winner.[14]

## Awards and nominations

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Award  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | References

|
|
|
|

Málaga Film Festival | Silver Biznaga Prize for Best Director  | Mo Scarpelli  | Winner  | [15]
Bogotá Film Festival | Best Film About Art  | Mo Scarpelli  | Winner  | [16]
Festival del Cine Venezolano  | Best Cinematography  | Mo Scarpelli  | Winner  | [17]
Best Director of Photography  | Mo Scarpelli  | Winner
Garden Route International Film Festival  | Best Direction Prize  | Mo Scarpelli  | Winner  | [18]
Best Actor/Character Prize  | Jorge Thielen Armand  | Winner
Doc Alliance Selection 2020  | Doc Alliance Selection Award  | Mo Scarpelli  | Winner  | [19]

## References

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1. ^ "Mo Scarpelli - Torino Film Lab".
2. ^ "El Father Plays Himself - Visions du Réel 2020".
3. ^ "El Father Plays Himself". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
4. ^ "Jorge Thielen Armand". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
5. ^ "Mo Scarpelli: "It's a film which is the truest reflection of my way of seeing things, than anything I have ever made"". CLAPPER. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
6. ^ Linden, Sheri (2020-04-26). "'El Father Plays Himself': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
7. ^ Granada, Emiliano (2020-04-23). "'El Father Plays Himself' Trailer Bows for Visions Du Réel Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
8. ^ Brunsting, Joshua (2020-05-11). "Eight Films To See From Visions Du Reel 2020". CriterionCast. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
9. ^ "2020 Awards". Visions du Réel. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
10. ^ "EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF". Perugia Social Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
11. ^ "Berlinale Talents Project - El Father Como Sí Mismo". Berlinale Talents. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
12. ^ www.oberon.nl, Oberon Amsterdam, El Father Plays Himself (2020) - Mo Scarpelli | IDFA, retrieved 2022-04-17
13. ^ "Cucalorus Film Festival Reveals Early 2020 Film Selections - BEST SUMMER EVER, EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF". VIMooZ. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
14. ^ "El Father Plays Himself | TorinoFilmLab". www.torinofilmlab.it. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
15. ^ "Málaga Film Festival - El Father Plays Himself" (PDF).
16. ^ "Bogotá Film Festival - El Father".
17. ^ "GANADORES FCV 2021". Festival del cine venezolano. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
18. ^ "2021 Film Festival Winners! – GRIFF – Garden Route International Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
19. ^ "Doc Alliance Selection 2020 | dafilms.com". dafilms.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.

## External links

[edit]

* El Father Plays Himself at IMDb
* El Father Plays Himself at FilmAffinity.
* El Father Plays Himself at Vimeo on Demand.