Private Project

Old Boy

During the dissolution of his late grandfather’s household, MARTIN (12) finds Grandpa’s diary:

MAX (73) now lives alone in the big house that was once so full of life. The memories of the past are more colorful than the present.

But there is one thing that makes his heart beat faster: His grandson MARTIN is grandpa’s pride, but unfortunately the two rarely see each other.

Suddenly MARTIN is at the door. Can the two escape the wasteland of loneliness?

  • Lars Smekal
    Director
  • Lars Smekal
    Writer
  • Lars Smekal
    Producer
  • Werner Steinmassl
    Key Cast
    "Opa Max"
  • Antonio Caserta
    Key Cast
    "Martin"
  • Rebecca Wannemacher
    Assistant director
  • Jan-Ahrent Czmok / Spektrumfilm
    Co-Production
  • Hanna Brune
    Production Assistant
  • Carsten Heinrich
    Production Assistant
  • Björn Brunke
    Director of Photography
  • Tristan Blaskowitz
    1. Camera Assistant
  • Henri Aalken
    2. Camera Assistant
  • André Windolf
    Gaffer
  • Joshua Rasch
    Lighting Assistant
  • Johannes Busch
    Sound Mixer
  • Victor Heckle
    Sound Assistant
  • Benedikt Hartlieb
    Sound Assistant
  • Nina Baumhoff
    Script & Continuity
  • Hao-Ping Wu
    Production Design
  • Nina Mielitz
    Production Design
  • Dorothee Nellessen
    Production Design
  • Dorothee Nellessen
    Make-Up
  • Karin Hosokawa
    Costume
  • Britta Döring
    Catering
  • Phat Nguyen
    Catering
  • David Arnolds
    Catering
  • Production Designer)
    Setrunner
  • Henri Scheunemann
    Setrunner
  • Alicia Karatas
    Set Intern
  • Jochen Wolkersdorfer
    Making-of
  • Corinna Van Eijk, Scaramouche Academy
    Child Casting
  • Christian Dronia
    Editor
  • Philipp Grzemba
    Sounddesign & Mixing
  • Jonas Becher
    Additional Sound Recordings
  • Eva Lorente
    Additional Sound Recordings
  • Dominik Reinicke
    Additional Sound Recordings
  • Joshua Rasch
    Additional Sound Recordings
  • Julius Pfeiffer
    DIT / Assistant Editing
  • Andy Justus
    Color Grading
  • Mischel Mansor
    Credits
  • Martin Olding
    Musik
  • Regina Mudrich
    Violin, Viola
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Alter Junge
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 55 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    German
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Hochschule Mainz
Director Biography - Lars Smekal

Born in Regensburg, Lars Smekal lives in Mainz and works as a director and author. In terms of content, his works deal particularly with social issues, in the past for example with addiction in the parental home, loneliness in old age and human trafficking. He is particularly interested in people who are underrepresented or discriminated against in public perception and the question of how we want to live together as a society. Smekal has appeared in various radio and television programs, including ARD's Morgenmagazin, SWR and HR.

In 2012, he published his first book, "The Notes of a Young Poet. In 2015 he completed a directing internship at the Münchner Kammerspiele. He also participated in four international exchange projects in Clermont-Ferrand (FR), Hasselt (BEL), Łódź (POL) and Kiev (UKR). Smekal sees himself as a European and has been able to build a good network through his festival participations across Europe. Smekal feels especially connected to Poland, as family members had roots in Silesia as late expellees. He has a language level of A2 in Polish.

He completed his bachelor's degree in art history, German language and literature, and comparative cultural studies at the University of Regensburg in 2017 with his bachelor's thesis "The World of Yesterday. Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) as a cinematic panorama of European exile." In 2018, he was awarded the Deutschlandstipendium for his top academic grades and special social commitment and was nominated at the Bavarian Youth Film Festival with his film Die versteckten und stillen Schätze des Lebens. In 2020, he was the protagonist of the Instagram campaign ,,Zusammen/Wspolnie" for the German Embassy in Warsaw. In 2021 he received the Film + Medien Nachwuchsförderung Rheinland-Pfalz and the "IM FOKUS - 6 points for culture" project scholarship.

In 2022, he completed his master's degree at the Mainz University of Applied Sciences in the "Time-Based Media" program. His graduation film Memories of a Forgotten Childhood on the subject of addiction in the parental home from the perspective of a child was funded by the state film funding agency HessenFilm und Medien. The film celebrated its world premiere in San Diego (USA) and won the "Best Drama Short Film" award.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Old Boy" is a very personal story that I realized in memory of my grandfather, the film is based on my grandpa's diary and my own memories as a child with him. It is about the theme of loneliness in old age.

With the short film “Alter Junge” I would like to fulfill a deeply personal wish: About three years ago my father gave me two diaries from the last two years of my grandfather Hans Smekal's life. My grandfather Hans died when I was nine years old, but he is always close to me and stands by me. He was my best friend with whom I could steal horses. At that time there were 600 kilometers between us, he lived in North Rhine-Westphalia and we in Bavaria. On June 1, 1998, Monday, Pentecost, he wrote “was lonely” in his book. My heart breaks into a thousand pieces every time I read these words.

With the short film "Old Boy" I want to capture the quiet and bitter pain of loneliness and capture it on canvas. Whether young or old, grandson Martin and Grandpa Max, everyone is affected. It is important to me to make the audience aware of this problem - so that no one has to be forgotten.