In My Parents’ House
original title: Im Haus meiner Eltern
2025, 95 min., Black&White, German
CATEGORIES : Drama, Debut
COUNTRY: Germany
PRODUCTION : BUDGET : 1 181 724 euro
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
CAST
Jenny Schily, Ursula Werner, Manfred Zapatka, Jens Brock, Markus Schleinzer, Johannes Zeiler, Kirsten Block, Peter Schneider, Markus Lerch
CREW
Director : Screenplay : Tim EllrichCinematographer : Konstantin Pape
Producers : Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer, Jan Krüger, Leopold Pape
COMMENTS
FESTIVALS: Beijing IFF (Official Selection of Tiantan Award) 2025, IFF Rotterdam (Tiger Competition / World Premiere) 2025
DIRECTOR’S NOTE;
IN MY PARENTS’ HOUSE is inspired by my own family’s experience with my schizophrenic uncle, who lived in the attic at my grandparents’ house until his death. He refused treatment and forced his family to adapt rather than to seek change. As my grandparents aged, the question of who would take over his care became inevitable. My mother, one of his four siblings, was gradually drawn into this responsibility, despite not wanting it.[…] IN MY PARENTS’ HOUSE is a film that speaks to everyone who knows the feeling helplessness in families that deal with a family member in need of help and care. It is about our will to help and our inability to do so sometimes. Without giving a simplified solution, I want to give attention to complex problems and enable a platform for people to talk about it. For me cinema is all about that: Sitting in a dark room with strangers, realizing that the person on the screen is a lot like oneself and feeling less alone because of it.
SYNOPSIS
A spiritual healer takes on the care of her schizophrenic brother and aging parents. As she tries to bring change to a family entrenched in silence, she is confronted with a man who refuses any kind of help.
In her parents‘ house, Holle‘s brother Sven has been living in silent isolation for decades. He remains detached from the family‘s life, seeming to fade away more and more each year. What goes on inside him is a mystery to everyone, and his family has quietly come to terms with the situation – a fragile balance of silence and tolerance.
Only Holle is the one who has never fully accepted this situation. Nevertheless, she no longer brings it up, focusing instead on her new calling as a spiritual healer. For the first time, Holle is taking steps toward her own self-fulfillment. But when her mother is unexpectedly admitted to the hospital, the deceptive calm shatters. Holle is increasingly confronted with her brother‘s worsening condition and becomes determined to help him, despite his resistance and the fa- mily’s reluctance. While her other siblings look away, Holle senses a far greater crisis looming.
PRESS
Ellrich avoids easy judgments, instead offering a thoughtful reflection on how society treats the elderly and infirm and the friction these responsibilities create within families – from those who shoulder the burden to those who keep their distance. With empathy and an understated approach, Im Haus meiner Eltern, examines the unspoken tensions and quiet sacrifices that define family life under pressure. – Vanja Kaludjercic, IFF Rotterdam
“I think the films I want to make are always about opening up a dialog and giving people the space and opportunity to open up to things they normally don’t address in life. This is a specific case of schizophrenia. But I was very purposefully putting the family in focus. It was important to me to make clear that this is affecting people on different levels.” – Tim Ellrich to Georg Szalai, The Hollywood reporter
“Every character in this film refers to a relative, to someone I’ve known all my life. It’s hard because you feel responsible: you don’t want to hurt anybody. When I was writing the script, my uncle was still alive. Then he died, and reality met fiction. You look at two actors, playing “your” parents, and go: “Oh my God.” It was a surreal moment of reenacting something I saw, but I was transforming it, too. You have to let go at some point – if you keep things too personal, others won’t understand them. But they appreciate it when you really put yourself on the line.” – Tim Ellrich to Marta Bałaga, Cineuropa
Im Haus meiner Eltern is meer dan een film over mantelzorg; het is een diepgaande reflectie op familiebanden, opoffering en hoe we als samenleving omgaan met zorg en verantwoordelijkheid. Door zijn persoonlijke invalshoek en het gebruik van authentieke locaties weet Ellrich een intieme sfeer te creëren die kijkers diep raakt. – Peter Paul Doodkorte, Verruim de horizon
Una historia sobre vejez, enfermedad y abandono podría haber devenido en un relato pornomísero en torno a la injusticia familiar, sin embargo, el joven cineasta Tim Ellrich logra en su ópera prima un tratamiento fílmico contenido que lo libra de excesos y demás crueldades. – Mónica Delgado, desistfilm
Bilder, mit denen Tim Ellrich das Haus der Eltern durchleuchtet, muten daher an wie Röntgenbilder abgestorbener Seelen. Form und Inhalt des Films umzirkeln so eine hermetische Agonie, eine Kommunikationsarmut, in welche die Protagonisten offenbar hineingeboren worden sind. Formal ist diese Chronik einer dysfunktionalen Familie durchaus ansehnlich. – Manfred Riepe, Epd-film
In fairness, there are also some sparks of promise here and there. For example, Dieter’s harsh takes on social conventions, as well as Sven’s silences and hysterical crises, are painful yet compelling to watch. These intuitions show Ellrich’s potential and budding directing talent. On another positive note, the entire cast delivers good performances, and almost each and every scene works by itself. – Davide Abbatescianni, Cineuropa
In My Parents’ House understands and mines the act of caregiving in all its restless, fractious emotional mix. Does the bond get leached of love and turn into a mechanical routine dripping with bitterness, and roiled undercurrents? Ellrich examines each of these colliding emotional notes in an unassuming manner. The tension in the house is always leaping out but he maintains it as a slow simmer. – Debanjan Dhar, HIGHONFILMS
“Much like Haneke’s Amour, In My Parents’ House is a tender but also unflinching look at how family dynamics can put our natural urge to help others under pressure. A triumph of subtlety, and anchored by a volcanic performance, this film deserves a wide audience.” – Marc van de Klashorst, International Cinephile Society