He Was a Giant with Brown Eyes

  • 85'
  • Switzerland
  • 2012
Eileen Hofer’s personal, independently-made feature debut has no professional actors, one or two takes for each scene and a budget of 20,000 Euros. Hofer could not and would not choose between fiction and documentary, so did not get funding via the traditional channels.
Born and bred in Switzerland with Turkish roots, the director tells a gripping coming-of-age story about life between two cultures. She follows her stepsister Sabina (17), who came with her mother from Azerbaijan to Switzerland. Her older sister Narmina stayed behind with their father in Bacu.
Five years later, Sabina returns to Bacu for a summer holiday. She secretly intends to stay with her beloved relatives. However, her father has marriage plans, again, while Narmina's boyfriend has been called up for military service. And has Sabina in the meantime not become too alienated from her roots? The title refers to a dream of every child: that his or her father is a hero. Sabina has to learn to deflate that myth.


  • 85'
  • Switzerland
  • 2012
Director
Eileen Hofer
Premiere
World première
Countries of production
Switzerland, Azerbaijan
Year
2012
Festival Edition
IFFR 2012
Length
85'
Medium
DCP
Languages
Azerbaijani, Russian
Producer
Eileen Hofer
Production Company
5 to Five Team Production
Sales
5 to Five Team Production
Screenplay
Eileen Hofer
Cinematography
Javier Gesto
Editor
Andres Enis, Valentin Rotelli
Production Design
Eileen Hofer
Sound Design
Ivan Castineras
Music
Julien Painot, Ladislav Agabekov
Cast
Sabina Agamaliyeva, Narmina Agamaliyeva
Website
http://eileenhofer.ch
Director
Eileen Hofer
Premiere
World première
Countries of production
Switzerland, Azerbaijan
Year
2012
Festival Edition
IFFR 2012
Length
85'
Medium
DCP
Languages
Azerbaijani, Russian
Producer
Eileen Hofer
Production Company
5 to Five Team Production
Sales
5 to Five Team Production
Screenplay
Eileen Hofer
Cinematography
Javier Gesto
Editor
Andres Enis, Valentin Rotelli
Production Design
Eileen Hofer
Sound Design
Ivan Castineras
Music
Julien Painot, Ladislav Agabekov
Cast
Sabina Agamaliyeva, Narmina Agamaliyeva
Website
http://eileenhofer.ch