“Come here, My Dear!” By Lars Kemnitz
A man is lured into the woods by a mysterious woman. Feeling perplexed in the first place, his curiosity turns into a true nightmare when he discovers that he is actually haunted by his past.
Be sure to check out Lars’ statement on his film below!
Credits
Directed by Lars Kemnitz
Starring:
Heidrun Fiedler & Jan Katzenberger
Shot on KODAK TRI-X super 8 film stock
Processing and telecine by ON8MIL
Beyond the Short
I started making films in January 2019 after many years of doing (mostly analog) photography. My first film was called "BUNNY" and was made as an entry for the 2019 edition of the renowned London-based Straight 8 competition. The film didn’t make the final selection, but was invited to a festival near London in November. A little later the idea was born to do a second chapter. It was the film’s actress Heidrun, a dear friend of mine and creative partner in crime for many years, who convinced me that a second chapter would be a good idea. So we met and brainstormed and shaped the first draft which underwent some alterations over time.
Last year two feature films were released – Mark Jenkin’s "Bait" and Robert Eggers’ "The Lighthouse" – which had a strong impact on me, not least because of how they make use of black-and-white film stock. This was when I decided to use black-and-white super 8 film stock for "Come Here, My Dear!".
We shot the indoor scenes in January this year. The outdoor scenes were scheduled to be shot in March. Then, suddenly, Covid-19 appeared and I was afraid that we wouldn’t be able to do the shoot. And would have to postpone everything which would have been a problem, because Heidrun was pregnant. But fortunately we were lucky enough to do the shoot just a moment before lock down in Germany. Traveling was already restricted back then, so I changed the location at short notice – instead of shooting on the beach we shot in the woods nearby. During lock down I worked on the edit and the music, so this became my Covid-19 project somehow.
In the end, I think, all the decisions payed off. I really loved the visuals instantly and tried to keep the film as quiet and minimalistic as possible. Also the music and sounds were reduced to the maximum. I wanted to create an atmospheric horror piece with a timeless quality. "BUNNY" was as well very cryptic in terms of the story and my aim for the second chapter was to keep that level of mystery while pushing the horror elements a little. I know many people watching the film have problems finding access to it. So I'm very happy every time someone tells me she or he enjoyed it and was able to take something out of it.
“Come Here, My Dear!” was submitted to us by Lars Kemnitz. Have a film of your own you’d like us to check out? Click here!