Filip Hammer Says The Road Trip At The Heart Of ‘The Last Journey’ Was As Much For Him As For His Aging Father – Contenders Documentary

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Swedish duo Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson directed and starred in the documentary The Last Journey. In the film, Sweden’s submission to the International Feature Oscar race, Hammar and Wikingsson take Hammar’s father, Lars, a retired teacher, on a road trip through France to help him deal with his depression.

Hammar said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-seasons showcase that he realized the trip and the film reflected a journey he himself needed to take to accept his aging parents. “In the end, this film is more about my journey than my dad’s journey in many ways,” Hammar said. “Accepting the fact that he’s never going to be the guy he once used to be.

I started out wanting him to find his spark again, wanted him to maybe just be my dad as I remember him. But with this trip, I think I’ve come to notice that, well, this is a different chapter and it’s one of the last chapters with him.” RELATED: Contenders Documentary — Deadline’s Complete Coverage Wikingsson agreed.

In planning the trip for Lars, he was planning as much for Filip too. “All these things that we stage for Filip’s dad to experience what he wants experience, there is a component there that Filip wants also to relive these moments before it’s too late,” Wikingsson said. “I think that those moments are as much about Filip as they are about his dad.” RELATED: Oscars: Academy Reveals List Of Documentary, Animation & International Features Eligible For Consideration The limits of Lars’ age came into focus early in the journey when Lars takes a fall in the hotel room.