To Dust
A widowed Hasid named Shmuel (Géza Röhrig from the Oscar-winning Son of Saul) cannot stop thinking about the decomposing body of his wife, who died from cancer-or about what's going to happen to him. Asking the impatient coffin seller about particularly drastic details is of no help. Tormented by nightmares, he turns to a biology teacher (Matthew Broderick) for help. After Shawn Snyder's black comedy, no one should expect normalcy: after all, both the Old Testament and Jethro Tull are quoted, and Matthew Broderick sits around in a pink, frilly bathrobe. In just 90 minutes, the American director finds room for philosophical ruminations about passing away and for pure slapstick, not to mention Michał Waszyński's 1937 film The Dybbuk, which some of the characters watch. Although it's difficult to remain serious after hearing things like "killing this pig will not bring back your wife," Snyder manages to sneak in a touching picture of a family trying to cope with sudden loss-in very, very strange ways.
awards
Tribeca FF 2018 – Audience Award, Best New Director
Shawn Snyder
Shawn Snyder is an American director and screenwriter. He grew up in Florida before studying at Harvard and at New York University. He won a Peter D. Gould Scholarship. He wrote a screenplay for theseries UnChartered. He directed the short film Festus, and in 2018 his dramedy It's Dust,starring Matthew Broderick and Hungarian actor Géza Röhrig from the Oscar-winning Son of Saul, was an award winner at the Tribeca Festival. In 2016, "Filmmaker" magazine included him on its list of 25 new faces of independent film.
Filmography
2014 Festus (short)
2015 Lulu (short)
2018 W proch się obrócisz / To Dust
Cast & Crew
