AMERICAN DIRGE

Sam, a sick and struggling musician, leaves Los Angeles behind to revisit his past and his estranged father in Louisiana for the last time. He walks his way through the fading soul of a country that carries the burden of failure, loss and emptyness. Like himself, it lived through better days.

American Dirge‘s associative, non-linear story is loosely based on the metaphorical meanings of Sam‘s songs, which are mainly inspired by traditional country & folk music. They embody the tragedy of the refused, isolated and ordinary man. With the coarseness of a gritty street poem the film sheds light on the shadows of the past, non-recognition and the interrelation between sensitivity and self-destructiveness.

---

Trailer

---

Joerg Steineck photos © Joerg Steineck