For this episode, we took a deep dive into ‘Went Up the Hill’, the latest film from Samuel Van Grinsven that stars Vicky Krieps and Dacre Montgomery which has been appearing at festivals around the world and will be in Aussie cinemas from September 11. This haunting, original tale of grief and possession set in remote New Zealand. The film follows Jack who has arrived at a distinctly unwelcoming funeral of Elizabeth, the artist mother he barely knew. An unnerving atmosphere hovers in Elizabeth’s cavernous and isolated house as Jack attempts to connect with Jill, his mother’s widow.
We caught up with Samuel Van Grinsven, the film’s writer and director, as he was doing the rounds to promote ‘Went Up the Hill’ and discussed how this intense and very queer film got made, the casting, his connection to the landscape of New Zealand and more. We also dived in to the Out Takes archives and revisited his interview from 2019 when he was on the show to discuss his first feature film ‘Sequin in a Blue Room’.