ALOYS
Aloys
Directed by Tobias Nölle
Switzerland, France | 91 minutes | 2016 | German | Drama
Aloys Adorn is a middle aged private detective who lives and works with his father. He experiences life from a safe distance, through a video camera he keeps recording 24 hours a day, and the massive collection of surveillance tapes he organizes and obsessively watches at home. But when his father dies, Aloys is left on his own and his sheltered existence begins to fall apart. After a night of heavy drinking, Aloys wakes up on a public bus to find that his camera and precious observation tapes have been stolen. Soon after, a mysterious woman calls to blackmail him. She offers to return the tapes if Aloys will try an obscure Japanese invention called ‘telephone walking’ with her, using his imagination as their only connection. As he is drawn deeper and deeper, falling in love with the voice on the other end of the phone, the woman opens up a new universe that may allow Aloys to break out of his isolation and into the real world.
Cast & Crew
Director: Tobias Nölle
Screenplay: Tobias Nölle
Cinematography: Simon Guy Fässler
Editing: Tobias Nölle
Cast: Georg Friedrich, Tilde von Overbeck
Producers: Christof Neracher (Hugofilm Productions), Jean des Forêts
Co-production companies: Petit Film, Schweizer Radio Und Fernsehen, SRG SSR, Arte
Festivals & Awards
Berlinale Panorama – FIPRESCI Prize
Camerimage – Best Debut – Director
Las Palmas – Audience Award
ND/NF FEST Portugal – Golden Lynx Best Fiction Feature
Swiss Film Prize – Best Cinematography
Vilnius International Film Festival
Transilvania International Film Festival
Bogota Independent Film Festival
Helsinki Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival
Haifa International Film Festival
CPH PIX
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Denver International Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival
Tbilisi International Film Festival
Kerala International Film Festival
Goteborg International Film Festival
press quotes
Filled with a constantly captivating dreamy or alternative comedy vibe. (…) Kaufman-esque look Aloys takes at madness and the joyful intimacy that fantasy can create this film is also really a very wonderful piece and it comes highly recommended.
Twitch Film
Tobias Nölle elegantly portrays a modern antihero. (…) A mysterious and powerful film.
Cineuropa