The film

Marlene is suffering from crippling nightmares. In an attempt to find some peace, she goes to a village in the mountains, which turns out to look strangely similar to the place she sees during her sleep. Her daughter Mona travels there to meet up with her now apathetic mother and becomes progressively aware of the cold dread emanating from the area. While looking for a solution to her mother’s ordeal, she will have to contend with the village’s gruesome past and the dark forces that still haunt it...

Exquisitely written, SCHLAF blurs the line between dream and reality. The story’s to-and-fros help create a world that feels organic, where roles and appearances can change in a troublingly easy way. Elevated by its impeccable cast, Michael Venus’ film weaves a web of subtle nuances and striking images that form a modern horror take on the genre of the Heimatfilm.

The director

A graduate from Bauhaus University, Michael Venus started his career as a producer for the KiKA channel before studying filmmaking in Hamburg. While working in advertisement, he directed several short films and music videos. SCHLAF is the first feature film of a director brought up on Grimm fairy tales and enamoured with Mario Bava’s oeuvre, as well as Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

Selected filmography

2008 – NICHT NAH GENUG (short)
2009 – ROENTGEN (short)
2011 – FLUSS (short)
2011 – EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL-TAM-TAM (codirected)
2015 – PARASITE SINGLE – THE HUNT (music video)
2019 – FOR BLOOD THE CROWD BAYS (short)