Hundstage

A heatwave and alcohol shatter the façade of middle-class propriety for six residents of a Viennese suburb: hatred, violence and raw emotion channel their way to the surface. In his debut feature, Ulrich Seidl sketches an oppressive portrait of lost souls. These are the hottest days of the year (the ‘dog days’ of July and August); the temperature is hitting highs above 35º Celsius, and tempers are starting to fray. Six residents of a suburb of Vienna are struggling to cope. Six lonely lives play out among the motorways, car parks and new-build housing estates.

Interplay of truth and fiction

In his films, director Ulrich Seidl makes use of an inventive interplay of truth and fiction. In his documentaries, he gets people to re-enact events that…