Following on from the success of indies in his home country of Germany, writer and director Jan-Ole Gerster’s latest work Islands marks his English-language feature debut. After having its world premiere in Berlin back in February, the film screened at Edinburgh International Film Festival before going out on UK general release this month.

 Sam Riley stars as a has-been pro turned tennis coach Tom who works out of a holiday resort in Spain, usually whilst hungover from partying at the local club the night before. His hedonistic lifestyle is upended when Anne (Stacy Martin) and Dave (Jack Farthing) arrive on the scene and ask him to give their young son private lessons. What follows is a suspenseful noir mystery with more twists and turns than a Grand Slam winning rally. I took the opportunity to sit down with Gerster to discuss the piece…

Continue reading “Islands Interview: Jan-Ole Gerster – ‘I seem to be terrified by the idea of living the wrong life’.” →