The Fabelmans

Die Fabelmans

Homage 2023

Sammy Fabelman is eight when he discovers the power of the movies. It is 1952 and his parents take him to see Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth. Sammy is especially fascinated by the train crash scene and recreates it with his model railroad. Encouraged by his artistically inclined mother, he starts filming it with his father’s 8mm movie camera. He then stages little movies around the house, first using his three younger sisters and later, after the family moves to Arizona, the members of his Boy Scout troupe. But home movies made during a camping trip trigger a crisis in the family. The footage reveals a secret connection between Sammy’s mother and his father Burt’s business partner and friend … Alongside a narrative of Spielberg’s youth, which included anti-Semitic hostility and his parents’ divorce, the film weaves a tale about the magic power of movies and the source of his art within his own family. The Fabelmans is a highly personal film, with adages from Sammy’s Uncle Boris, a lion tamer and film veteran, reverberating with as much force as advice from John Ford. But the most powerful truism comes from Sammy’s mother: “Movies are dreams that you never forget”.

by Steven Spielberg (Director, Screenplay), Tony Kushner (Screenplay)
with Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Chloe East, Julia Butters, Sam Rechner, Judd Hirsch, Keeley Karsten, Mateo Zoryan Francis-Deford, Oakes Fegley, Birdie Borria, Sophia Kopera, Alina Brace, David Lynch, Nicolas Cantu USA 2022 English 151' Colour German premiere. Rating R12

With

Gabriel LaBelle
Michelle Williams
Paul Dano
Seth Rogen
Chloe East
Julia Butters
Sam Rechner
Judd Hirsch
Keeley Karsten
Mateo Zoryan Francis-Deford
Oakes Fegley
Birdie Borria
Sophia Kopera
Alina Brace
David Lynch
Nicolas Cantu

Crew

Director	Steven Spielberg
Screenplay	Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner
Cinematography	Janusz Kaminski
Editing	Michael Kahn, Sarah Broshar
Music	John Williams
Production Design	Rick Carter
Costumes	Mark Bridges
Producers	Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner