Memories Of Mommy and Daddy
As the 1956 Hungarian uprising erupts, revolutionary actors Imre and Katalin are summoned to the mansion of exiled Hollywood idol Julian Vargas, expecting an ally. Instead they find only Felix, his disturbed adult son, who coerces them into reenacting his abusive childhood through increasingly sinister theatrical games. As Budapest falls and the actors lose themselves in their roles, a Soviet general arrives to claim the famous couple for propaganda — exposing buried secrets about the missing parents. To survive, Imre and Katalin must fully become Mommy and Daddy, or die as themselves.
Producers' note
Memories of Mummy and Daddy is an unbridled dark satire about the maze of fanatical worldviews and self-destructive family prejudices that stifle generations. Niche in genre and tone, it offers a fresh, entertaining production for domestic audiences while reaching the established absurdist-satire crowd across Europe, the US and Asia — fans of Lanthimos and Park Chan-wook.
Estonian-born director Johannes Magnus Aule, who wrote the basic idea, lives between Budapest, Tallinn and London. A recent graduate of the National Film and Television School, his strength is satire infused with black humour, and he has already shot a proof of concept proving the vision.
Satire with black humour has a long tradition here, from the Czech New Wave to Kusturica. Lately its place has been taken by simpler romantic comedies. This film aims to revive that tradition — telling our historical traumas in a way the world rarely hears, and one we must always find a new voice to examine at home.
Director's note
I have always been drawn to the macabre, that uncomfortable tightrope walk between a chuckle and a scream. Memories of Mommy and Daddy lives on that wire. It is a world where the excess of Old Hollywood collides with the brutal reality of a Soviet invasion. But I am not laughing at Felix, my protagonist. I am laughing with him, and most uncomfortably, at myself. Because Felix is what happens when you refuse to let go, when you turn your trauma into performance art and mistake the rehearsal for healing.
This operates as Eastern European Sunset Boulevard meets the surreal brutality of Buñuel, but where Norma Desmond was trapped by past glory, Felix is trapped by past trauma. Picture a grand mansion decaying in the fog, a young man clutching a golden Oscar like a teddy bear, forcing two desperate actors to become the parents who abandoned him. When the truth is unbearable, we need the safety of a mask. The bigger the lie, the more honest the emotion underneath.
Mommy and Daddy took me to America when I was four. When they split and the "American Dream" died, I was left holding a narrative that was never really mine. Felix is a twisted version of myself, frozen in childhood resentment, but he takes it to the extreme I never did. He hires replacement parents to re-enact his memories until they become his reality.
While Budapest burns, Felix stages his personal theater of trauma, oblivious to the world collapsing around him. We retreat into curated self-obsession while democracy crumbles, choosing the echo chamber over collective action. When Soviet soldiers finally knock, all the games of identity become meaningless against real authority.
When the rear projection turns on, hiding the burning city behind a Hollywood sunset, I hope we take a breath. We are all driving that absurd Cadillac, staring into a fake horizon, hoping that if we don't look in the rearview mirror, the fire isn't real.
But when all is said and done, this story is simply about a boy who needed a hug.
Biography
Johannes splits his time developing, directing, and producing. He has a BA in producing from BFM and an MA in directing from NFTS.
Biography
Producer and Sound Designer Ivo Felt co-founded the production company Allfilm in 1995. Currently, Ivo is focusing more on producing but has created sound design for more than 50 feature and documentary films in the past. Ivo’s productions include Zaza Urushadze's Tangerines (2013) nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe as well as Klaus Härö's The Fencer (2015) nominated for a Golden Globe. Ivo’s latest feature Truth and Justice (2019) directed by Tanel Toom broke box office records locally, won a Satellite Award and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. He has also produced a number of creative documentaries and works with director Marko Raat for twelve years now. Their latest collaboration, Funeral Diaries (2019) opened at DOK.fest Munich and screened at many festivals later.