Jonas Bak's guest appearances

Jonas Bak

KUCI: Film School

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Jonas Bak's debut "Wood and Water" stars his mother, Anke Bak, as a newly retired woman, living in Germany's Black Forest, who travels to Hong Kong to reconnect with her son, Max, whom she's not seen in three years. Through her travels and folks met along the way, she begins to embrace a new chapter of her life and reexamine her relationship to the past, parenting and how she wishes to spend the upcoming years. It's a gorgeous, meditative work that makes me think twice about my own relationship to my mom, especially after becoming a parent myself. | Follow me on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod| 9YwLgJh0u9mRpdDlUsjV

18. Wood and Water (2021) dir. Jonas Bak

In his graceful feature film debut, WOOD AND WATER, German director Jonas Bak’s thoughtful explanation of a women at a spiritual crossroad moves seamlessly from the tall spires of the Black Forest to the teeming skyscrapers of Hong Kong. Newly retired from her church job, Anke dreams of spending time with her grown children—including her uncommunicative and elusive son, Max, who has been living for years in Hong Kong, and who is unable to join his mother and sister back in Germany due to the ongoing pro-democracy protests. In a daring decision, Anke, though suffering from loneliness and loss, travels to Hong Kong to find Max and perhaps also herself. The people she encounters, and her experience of the city help her to break down the inner walls she constructed years ago, and make way for a new chapter in her life. In his hushed, wholly original approach to this fish-out-of-water set-up, Bak constructs a gentle, ambiguous fable of becoming, shot on 16mm and featuring a wondrous, naturalistic performance by his own mother, Anke Bak. Director Jonas Bak joins us to talk about the casting his mother in the leading role, working the chaotic political struggle taking place in Hong Kong into a very personal story and finding a cast of actors and mostly non-actors to bring out the intuitive talent Anke possesses. For updates and screenings go to kimstim.com/film/wood-and-water

In his graceful feature film debut, WOOD AND WATER, German director Jonas Bak’s thoughtful explanation of a women at a spiritual crossroad moves seamlessly from the tall spires of the Black Forest to the teeming skyscrapers of Hong Kong. Newly retired from her church job, Anke dreams of spending time with her grown children—including her uncommunicative and elusive son, Max, who has been living for years in Hong Kong, and who is unable to join his mother and sister back in Germany due to the ongoing pro-democracy protests. In a daring decision, Anke, though suffering from loneliness and loss, travels to Hong Kong to find Max and perhaps also herself. The people she encounters, and her experience of the city help her to break down the inner walls she constructed years ago, and make way for a new chapter in her life. In his hushed, wholly original approach to this fish-out-of-water set-up, Bak constructs a gentle, ambiguous fable of becoming, shot on 16mm and featuring a wondrous, naturalistic performance by his own mother, Anke Bak. Director Jonas Bak joins us to talk about the casting his mother in the leading role, working the chaotic political struggle taking place in Hong Kong into a very personal story and finding a cast of actors and mostly non-actors to bring out the intuitive talent Anke possesses. <br><br>For updates and screenings go to <a href="http://kimstim.com/film/wood-and-water" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kimstim.com/film/wood-and-water</a>