Andy Herzog
Writer / Director
Switzerland
Andy Herzog, born in Switzerland, is a filmmaker and actor. He studied Acting at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts (Mozarteum) in Salzburg, Austria. Since his studies, Andy has been working as an actor for several renown theatres in Germany and Austria, as well as for film and TV productions. From 2005 to 2006, he participated in the film-directing program of INIS, Montreal, Canada. Together with the co-director Matthias Günter he produced, starred in and directed his first feature WINTERGAST (2015) which was distributed in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Among others, the film was screened at the Locarno Festival. 2016, Andy works on the primetime documentary-series WHAT IS TYPICAL SWISS? as co-writer, reporter and director for the Swiss National Television. He lives and works in Zurich.
Project
The Training
The unsuccessful and pathologically serious actor Martin (48) lives in Berlin and is going through difficult times. Yet again, his girlfriend has failed to get pregnant and there is not enough money for another artificial insemination. His male ego is at an all-time low. He decides to return to his homeland to earn money as a geriatric nurse in a dreary suburb of Zurich. His neurotic father, a retired author of self-help books awaits him. He’s determined to coach Martin to success. The course, “Humour training” for the nursing home staff brings hope. Martin believes he has found the solution to his problems. Obsessive practise, over-powering women, and a clash with his father push him to giving up. He ends up in fits of hysterical laughter and in a psychiatric ward on the last day of the course. There, he finds respect at last. He writes a play through which he discovers himself as a man and an artist, and finally gets back his sense of humour. A laconic comedy-drama.
