The Netherlands, Belgium

Mr. K, a traveling magician, finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of the hotel he has slept in. His attempts to get out only pull him deeper, entangling him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants.

Written & directed by: Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab
Produced by: Leontine Petit, Erik Glijnis, Dries Phlypo, Judy Tossell, Ineke Kanters, Jan van der Zanden
Cinematography: Frank Griebe
Editing: Maarten Janssens
Production Design: Maarten Piersma, Manolito Glas
Costume Design: Charlotte Willems
Make-Up & Hair: Kaatje van Damme
Original Score: Stijn Cole
Sound: Nils Viken, Bror Kristiansen, Dirk Bombey, Miguel De Oliveira e Silvia
Visual Effects: Troll VFX, Storm Post Production
Casting: Sharon Howard Field, Saida van der Reijd, Ann Willems
Cast: Crispin Glover (Mr. K), Sunnyi Melles (Gaga), Bjørn Sundquist (Chef), Fionnula Flanagan (Ruth Monchien), Dearbhla Molloy (Sara Monchien), Barbara Sarafian (Mrs. Hum), Jan Gunnar Røise (Anton), Esmée van Kampen (Melinda), Sam Louwyck (Grey Man)

Statement of the director:
Mr. K explores the way we try to mould reality into something we can control and understand and how we protect the status quo by surrounding ourselves with others who share our view, making the world bite size and relatable.
When I was a child the world seemed like a magical place where everything was possible. In adolescence it felt like a maze full of fascinating strange people who lived by social codes I did not understand but found intriguing. Many times, in adulthood, I thought I had found the answer to who I was and what my life should be, but then something unexpected would happen that turned everything upside down.
I grew up very protected, so these moments of drastic change were scary to me. They challenged what I thought my life was, the things I had felt sure of. Still, if I think back, these were probably the moments when I saw things most clearly. I felt the crushing randomness of life and realised how much more the world really is than the everyday life I had created for myself. I was confronted with the fact that what I saw around me was only a fraction of what life is, that I had merely created a comfortable bubble around myself.
As a person I am by nature like the inhabitants of the hotel. I don’t want to change, and I want to be safe and shut out things that scare me. But at the same time, I know I am fooling myself. Part of me is like Mr. K who can’t pretend that everything is all right.
But any personal truth is a paradigm waiting to be popped. There is always something more, something that comes from left field, something you hadn’t thought about that bursts your bubble and forces you to reassess all your previous assumptions.
The film touches on the absurdity of existence and the frustrating fact that there are no right answers. It’s about big truths, versus small truths and how we struggle to find meaning in a complex and everchanging world.
How do we recognise what is important? What do we make important? What makes us feel safe? Who do we follow? What truth do we chose? How do we know our own limits? How do we deal with change and the fear that comes with it? How do we deal with the unknown? How do we meet the future?
The film is an existential drama. Existentialism is a philosophical movement in which individual freedom, responsibility and subjectivity is central. Existential stories are not about the issues of the day and the specific problems in a point in time. They deal with the timeless, universal questions. Why am I here? What is the meaning of my existence? Hence the name. They are questions that stay relevant throughout the ages. Mr. K is placed in the centre of a chaotic and confusing world that keeps changing. Isn’t that essentially the human condition?
At the same time Mr. K is also simply a story about a man who has come to the conclusion that he is completely irrelevant and who discovers that he is in fact destined to play a role far greater than he can ever hope to fathom the importance of. It is about keeping an open mind, going down new paths and learning to accept the unknown.

Production:
Lemming
www.lemmingfilm.com

World Sales:
Level K
www.levelk.dk

Press:
Hook Publicity
http://hookpublicity.com