Factotum (Factotum)

Documentaries

Features

Short Films

Search the
Film Database

Factotum
Original title	Factotum
Type	Features
Genre	Drama
Director	Bent Hamer
Short summary	Henry Chinaski works in factories and warehouses to support what he really wants to do: drink, bet the horses, take up with women as rootless as he is and, above all, write stories that no one wants to publish. Based on the novel by Charles Bukowski, Factotum is the story of a man living on the edge, of a writer who is willing to risk everything to make sure that his life is his poetry.
Summary	The excitement of betting at the race track, the passion of his love affairs with the women - Jan and Laura - who like to drink as much as he does, his pleasure in observing the small things in life and always his writing - these are the things that keep Hank Chinaski going. "Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live." Charles Bukowski Henry Chinaski works in factories and warehouses to support what he really wants to do: drink, bet on the horses, take up with women as rootless as he is and, above all, write stories that no one wants to publish. Based on the novel by Charles Bukowski, Factotum is the story of a man living on the edge, of a writer who is willing to risk everything to make sure that his life is his poetry. "An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way. An artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way.” Charles Bukowski Charles Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany on August 16, 1920 and came with his family to the United States when he was three years old. Among his forty-five books of poetry and prose are the novels Post Office, Ham on Rye, Women, Hollywood and Pulp. His second novel, Factotum, published in 1975, follows Henry Chinaski (Bukowski’s alter ego) through a series of dead end jobs sandwiched between days and nights of drinking, women and his on going efforts to capture it all in his writing. Bukowski also wrote the original screenplay for the film Barfly. Other films based on his stories include Crazy Love (aka Love is a Dog From Hell) and Tales of Ordinary Madness. His books have been translated and published in over 15 languages. Charles Bukowski died on March 9, 1994 in his adopted hometown of San Pedro, California. The latest volume of his writing to be published posthumously is the new book of poetry Slouching Toward Nirvana published by ECCO Press. "I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there." "Sometimes you just have to pee in the sink." "What matters most is how well you walk through the fire." "It's possible to love a human being if you don't know them too well." "If writing cost more than the price of paper and postage, I would have to quit that too." Writer and producer Jim Stark's first involvement with film came when he helped Jim Jarmusch finance, produce and sell the low budget independent hit Stranger Than Paradise. He went on to act as a producer on three more Jarmusch feature films (Down by Law, Mystery Train, Night on Earth), as well as two short films (Coffee and Cigarettes). Jim’s producing credits also include Alex Rockwell’s In the Soup (Grand Prize, Sundance Film Festival), Gregg Araki’s The Living End, Christopher Munch’s Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day and Adrienne Shelly’s I'll Take You There. Jim co-wrote and produced Fridrik Thor Fridriksson’s Cold Fever.
Cast	Matt Dillon Hank Chinaski Lili Taylor Jan Marisa Tomei Laura Fisher Stevens Manny Didier Flamand Pierre Adrienne Shelly Jerry Karen Young Grace Tom Lyons Tony Endicott MATT DILLON (HANK)’s successful film career has spanned over two decades and has showcased his wide range of dramatic and comedic talents. He has proven himself to be one of the most diverse actors of his generation. From his breakthrough performance in The Outsiders he went on to appear in such great films as The Flamingo Kid, To Die For, and his hilarious turn as an obsessed private investigator in There's Something About Mary” Recently he wrote and directed his first feature, City of Ghosts, which was released by MGM/UA in April of 2003. In 1990 Dillon won an IFP Spirit Award for his gritty performance as a drug addict in Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy. He will next be seen in Crash with Don Cheadle and Sandra Bullock and Herbie: Fully Loaded. Dillon’s production company Banyan Tree has a first look deal with MGM. LILI TAYLOR (JAN) has starred in such critically acclaimed films as I Shot Andy Warhol, Girl's Town, Short Cuts, Dogfight, Illtown, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Pecker and The Addiction as well as such popular films as Mystic Pizza, High Fidelity, Born on the Foruth of July, Ransom and The Haunting. She won an Independent Spirit Award for Household Saints and a Special Jury Prize for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival. Upcoming films include Vincent Perez's The Secret and Mary Harron's The Notorious Bettie Page. Lili received an Emmy nomination for her roles on The X-Filmes and HBO's Six Feet Under. DIDIER FLAMAND (PIERRE) has appeared as an actor in over 100 films most notably in French films like La vocation suspendue, Chocolat, J'ai pas sommeil, Les destinees sentimentales, A vendre, Les rivieres pourpres, Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire and the English language film The Chateau. He is well known for his work as a writer and director of avant garde theater in France and particularly for his acclaimed productions of Prends bien garde aux Zeppelins (starring Jean Reno in the original production and recently revived at the Theatre Nationale de Chaillot) and La manufacture. La vis - Didier’s first short film as writer/director -- was nominated for an Oscar and won the Cesar for Best Short Film. MARISA TOMEI (LAURA) received an Academy Award for her role in the hit comedy My Cousin Vinny. Best known for rich comic performances, Tomei took a dramatic turn with In The Bedroom, earning her second Academy Award nomination. Marisa’s diverse film credits include: Alfie, Anger Management, The Guru, Happy Accidents, What Women Want, Slums of Beverly Hills, Welcome To Sarajevo, The Perez Family, A Brother’s Kiss, Unhook The Stars (Screen Actor’s Guild nomination), and the upcoming Marilyn Hotchkiss, Loverboy (both featured at Sundance 2005), and Factotum. On stage, Tomei was seen on Broadway opposite Al Pacino in Salome in the title role. This past summer, Marisa starred in Design For Living at the Williamstown Theater Festival. Previous theater credits include among others We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!, Waiting For Lefty and Rocket To The Moon. Marisa is a member of the Naked Angels Theater Company in NYC.
Screenplay	Bent Hamer and Jim Stark
Based on	Charles Bukowski's novel and excerpts from his books: "The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses over the Hills", "What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk through the Fire", "The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken over the Ship". Black Sparrow Press
D.O.P	John Christian Rosenlund, fnf
Editor	Pål Gengenbach, NFK
Composer	Kristin Asbjørnsen (www.dadafon.com, www.kristinsong.com)
Sound	Petter Fladeby
Costume designer	Tere Duncan
Scenography	Eve Cauley Turner
Producer	Bent Hamer, Jim Stark Executive Producer: Christine Kunewa Walker
Production company	BulBul Film AS and Stark Sales Inc Production
Country of origin	Norway - USA
Release date (national)	2005-04-29
Release date (international)	2005-05-14
Technical information
Format	35mm
Screen ratio	1:1,85
Colour	Colour
Sound System	SDDS
Length in min's	93
Length in meters	2549
International sales	Celluloid Dreams 2 rue Turgot, F-75009 Paris Tel: +33 1 49 70 03 70 Fax: +33 1 49 70 03 71 Mail: info@celluloid-dreams.com www.celluloid-dreams.com
Distributor (Norway only)	SF Norge AS
Festival participation	2005 Kosmorama International Film Festival, Trondheim 2005 Quinzaine des Realisateurs, Cannes 2005 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2005 Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2005 Cinemanila International Film Festival 2005 Copenhagen Film Festival 2005 Norwegian International Film Festival, Haugesund 2005 Espoo Ciné International Film Festival 2005 Scandinavië Festival in Rotterdam 2005 Filmfest Hamburg 2005 Norwegian Film Week, Paris 2005 Pusan International Film Festival 2005 Warsaw International Film Festival 2005 Riga Nordic Film Festival 2005 London Film Festival 2005 Nordische Filmtage Lübeck 2005 Cape Town World Cinema Festival/Sithengi 2005 Scanorama, Vilnius 2005 Black Night Film Festival, Tallinn, Estonia 2006 Sundance International Film Festival 2006 Gøteborg Film Festival, Sweden 2006 Mar del Plata, Argentina 2006 Sofia International Film Festival 2006 Hong Kong International Film Festival 2006 Seattle International Film Festival, USA 2006 Festroia, Portugal Competition 2006 Pula Film Festival, Kroatia 2006 Norwegian Film Week, Brazil 2006 Beirut International Film Festival 2007 FICCO: Mexico City's International Film Fesival 2007 Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival
Prizes received	2005 Copenhagen Film Festival: Best Director 2005 Riga Nordic Film Festival, Latvia: Half Live Achievement 2006 Kosmorama Film Festival, Trondheim: Best Film Music to Kristin Asbjørnsen
URL	http://www.nfi.no/film/factotum

Printer friendly version

Download text, photos, sound

Director biography:
BIOGRAPHY

Director, scriptwriter, producer and owner of the film production company BulBul Film as (est.1994). Bent Hamer was born in Sandefjord, Norway. Educated in Film Theory and Literature at Stockholms Universitet and Stockholms Filmskola.

His latest feature film, O’ HORTEN, was released in Norway, December 26th 2007, and had it's international premiere in "Un Certain Regard" (2008)

His other feature films include FACTOTUM (2005), KITCHEN STORIES (2003) and EGGS (1995) which had its international premiere at the Director's Fortnight in Cannes where KITCHEN STORIES received The Europa Cinemas prize. Both EGGS and KITCHEN STORIES were awarded The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI).

Bent Hamer’s films have been distributed in more than 40 countries, they have participated in more than 80 film festivals around the world and have won him some 30 prizes.

FILMOGRAPHY FEATURES
(2007) O’ HORTEN
Writer, director and producer. Produced by BulBul Film as.

(2005) FACTOTUM (95’)
Writer, director and producer. (Co-written/co-produced with Jim Stark. Based on the novel, Factotum by Charles Bukowski.).
Produced by BulBul Film as and StarkSales Inc.

(2003) SALMER FRA KJØKKENET / KITCHEN STORIES (95’)
Writer, director and producer. (Written in co-operation with Jörgen Bergmark).
Produced by BulBul Film as.

(1998) EN DAG TIL I SOLEN / WATER EASY REACH (95’)
Writer and director. Produced by BulBul Film as.

(1995) EGGS (85’)
Writer and director. Produced by BulBul Film as.

FILMOGRAPHY SHORTS
(1995) BARE KØDD / JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT (3’)
(Written by Tove Cecilie Sverdrup)

(1994) APPLAUS / APPLAUSE (7’)

(1993) STEIN / STONE (20’)

(1992) SØNDAGSMIDDAG / SUNDAY DINNER (16’)

(1992) HAPPY HOUR / HAPPY HOUR (4’)
(Co-writer/director Jörgen Bergmark)

(1991) MAKRELLEN ER KOMEN / LONGITUDE-LATITUDE (13’)

FILMOGRAPHY DOCUMENTARIES
(2005) NORGE EROBREREN / NORWAY THE CONQUEROR (25’)

(1994) MOT TIL VERDIGHET / COURAGE TO DIGNITY (20’)

FILMOGRAPHY COMMERCIALS
(1995-2003) 20 commercials as director

AWARDS
(2008) The Norwegian Film Critics Association
The Film Critics Prize; O’ Horten

(2008) Trondheim International Film Festival - Kosmorama
Best Screenplay; O’ Horten
Best Innovative Film; O’ Horten
(Best Music; Kaada)
(Best Supporting Actor; Trond Viggo Torgersen)

(2008) The Norwegian Cinema Directors Association
The Silver Lump for best Norwegian film 2007; O’ Horten

(2005) Copenhagen International Film Festival, Denmark
The Golden Swan for best director; Factotum
(Best Actress; Lili Taylor)

(2005) Riga Nordic Film Festival
Half Life Achievement Prize

(2004) Aamot Statuetten, Norway
Film & Kino’s honorary award for Kitchen Stories

(2003) The Norwegian Film Critics Association
The Norwegian Film Critics Prize for Kitchen Stories

(2003) Tromsø International Film Festival, Norway
The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI); Kitchen Stories

(2003) Cannes International Film Festival (Directors’ Fortnight), France
The Europa Cinemas prize; Kitchen Stories
Regard Jeune Prize; Kitchen Stories

(2003) The Norwegian Film Festival, Amanda award
(2003) Best Norwegian Feature Film; Kitchen Stories

(2003) Festival Paysages de Cinéastes, Chatenay-Malabry, France
The Public Award; Kitchen Stories
(Best Director of Photography; Philip Øgaard for Kitchen Stories)

(2003) Copenhagen International Film Festival, Denmark
The Golden Swan for best director; Kitchen Stories

(2003) Festival du cinema européen, Cinessonne, France
The Students Prize; Kitchen Stories

(2003) Flanders International Film Festival Ghent, Belgium
Best Screenplay; Kitchen Stories

(2003) Nordic Film Days Lübeck, Germany
The Baltic Film Price for Kitchen Stories

(2003) Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain
Silver Spike; Kitchen Stories
(Best Director of Photography; Philip Øgaard for Kitchen Stories)

(2003) São Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil
Best Director for Kitchen Stories

(2003) The Oslo Award: The film of the year; Kitchen Stories

(2003) Arne Skouens Honorary Award

(2003) Vestfold Fylkeskommune; The Culture Award

(1999) Sandefjord Kommune; The Culture Award

(1998) The Norwegian Film Festival, Amanda award
Best Screenplay; Water Easy Reach

(1998) Semana Internacional de Cine Naval y del Mar, Cartagena, Spain
Best Director; Water Easy Reach
Best Script; Water Easy Reach
(Best Photographer; Philip Øgaard for Water Easy Reach)
(Best Actress; Ingrid Rubio in Water Easy Reach)

(1996) Nordic Film Festival Rouen, France
Prix de la Public; Eggs

(1996) Bruxelles Cinédécouvert, Belgium
Aide à la Distribution Prix; Eggs

(1996) The Norwegian Film Critics Association
The Film Critics Prize for Eggs

(1996) The Norwegian Cinema Directors Association
The Silver Lump for best Norwegian film 1995; Eggs

(1995) Toronto International Film Festival, Canada
The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI); Eggs

(1995) Cannes International Film Festival (Directors’ Fortnight), France
Prix de la Jeunesse; Eggs

(1995) Moscow International Film Festival, Russia
The Russian National prize; St. Ana Award for Eggs
The Kodak Prize; Eggs

(1995) The Norwegian Film Festival, Amanda award
Best Norwegian Feature Film; Eggs
(Best Male Actors; Sverre Hansen and Kjell Stormoen in Eggs)

(1995) Nordic Film Days Lübeck, Germany
NDR’s 1. prize; The Optimus Award; Eggs
The Baltic film prize; The Bird Woman Award; Eggs

(1995) Night & Day Magazine Oslo, Norway
The Film of the Year; Eggs

(1994) The Norwegian Film Festival, Amanda award
Best Short Film; Applause

NOMINATIONS
(2004) RISE (Recontres Internationales des Scénaristes Européens)
Best European Screenplay: Kitchen Stories

(2003) THE ACADEMY AWARD (Oscars)
The Norwegian entry: Kitchen Stories

(2003) EUROPEAN FILM AWARD
Public Prize; Kitchen Stories
Best European Film; Kitchen Stories
Best European Director; Kitchen Stories

JURY WORK
Istanbul International Film Festival; Competition
Tromsø International Film Festival; Competition
Copenhagen International Film Festival; Competition
Sundance Institute/Sundance Film Festival; The HKL Award
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; Competition
Nordic Panorama; Best Nordic Short Film
Amanda Award; Best Norwegian Short Film