A Film By Francesco Aram Zenati
Executive Producer Paul Weitz
About Absract Furies
An Italian-American couple's relationship is tested in light of their son's death. When the father summons his son up for a reconciliation, we realize that he harbors a mysterious responsibility for the boy's death. Will he find the absolution he craves?
About Francesco Aram Zenati
Francesco Aram Zenati is an Italian and American filmmaker of Armenian descent. He holds degrees from both New York University and the National Film and Television School.
Francesco has extensive experience in film and television production ranging from assistant roles at Amazon Studios, Likely Story, and PBS to Script Reader for companies including Playground Entertainment, Cinetic Media, and Metalwork Pictures.
He has worked closely with top industry professionals including Oscar-nominated Writer/Director/Producer Paul Weitz, Andrew Levitas, Golden Globe Winner Caroline Baron, Independent Spirit Award Winner Anthony Bregman, and Emmy Award Winner Peter Rosen.
Cast
Mark Lotito as Ettore (Synechdoche, New York; The Sopranos)
Granit Lahu as Anto (The Sinner)
Antoinette LaVecchia as Maria (The Sopranos; Deliver Us From Evil)
Above-the-Line Crew
Written, Directed, Edited by Francesco Aram Zenati
Executive Producer Paul Weitz (About a Boy, American Pie)
Produced by Jeremy Truong Francesco Aram Zenati
Director of Photography Joshua Herzog
Casting by Dayna Katz (The Post; Collateral Beauty)
Production Designer Griffin Stoddard
Music by Thibault Chavanis (Star Wars: Battlefront II)
Sound Designer Alexandre Beuillier
Director's Statement
As the son of an immigrant Italian family living in the US, the struggle of parenting in a foreign country is very close to my heart. I wanted to make a film that would dramatize the subject while respecting the experience. The lack of resolution and cyclicality of the expatriate experience was an important characteristic in developing the structure of the film.
Production Notes
During filming we often used symbols to load the images with meaning. The swim goggles were a strong symbol in the film to allude to a filtered reality. However, it was a narrative challenge to find a way to transition from the father's summoning of his dead son (and subsequent swim race) to the father's physical manipulation of the swim goggles.
While we were filming the living room scene we realized that it would be impossible to finish the oner without catching the ceiling light. We needed something to focus on while following the father. An on-set brainstorm occurred during which we realized that the father would be going upstairs to get the swim goggles: a sort of ritual. This would motivate the manifestation of the swim goggles in the garden (from the dead son to the father) and give us an excuse to use a close up on the oner going into the living room. This was an exciting example of creative and practical production events working in harmony!