Your old man + discussion panel

So, what has your old man been up to lately? Did he ask if you were holding the flashlight for him or for yourself? Refused to agree to having a dog in the house? Or maybe he’s been muttering all day with that classic line under his breath, “Back in my day”? Online memes suggest that fathers are almost their own species – grumpy, stuck in their ways, walking their own paths, and ostentatiously unfashionable, yet also – somewhere deep down – endearing and protective.

Reality, however, is more complex, and questions about modern fatherhood are more significant than ever. How does one be a good father in a rapidly changing world where perhaps the only constant is the repeated claim of a ‘crisis of masculinity’? Should a father be a friend, mentor, coach, or an authority figure? Or is the age-old motif of rebelling against the father’s authority inevitable?

Here is a collection of films that juxtapose different aspects of the relationships between fathers and their children, often grown or growing up. Through a variety of forms and genres – feature films, documentaries, and animation – they depict the rising tensions and the walls built between generations, or conversely, the more or less successful attempts to tear down barriers that have sprung up without knowing when or how. These are stories of specific individuals that keenly and succinctly diagnose the challenges of modern fatherhood, without shying away from questions about children’s obligations to their parents. The common thread is the ongoing search in the dark and the realisation that good intentions can pave the way to hell more easily than they can build a path between father and child.

It’s worth watching this selection to ask yourself: is any of these films about YOUR old man?

Curators: Maciej Białous & Krzysztof Sienkiewicz

Programme:
Milý tati / Love, dad, Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Czechia 2021, 12’
Sierra, Sander Joon, Estonia 2022, 15’57”
No hay lugar / No vacancy, Daniel Katz, Argentina 2019, 14′
Taniec w narożniku/Dancing in the corner, Jan Bujnowski, Poland 2024, 13′
Vader, Isabel Lamberti, The Netherlands 2019, 25′