The House of Janus

Film Production
Singapore International Film Festival | Bettona, Italy | 2024

A moving reflection on life, love and mortality, as one grapples with the inevitability of time’s passage. Perched on the hills of Bettona, the House of Janus plays host to an annual summer vacation. It soaks in the amber glow of the Roman countryside and teeters on the edge of wakefulness—the romantic, timeless setting for this retelling of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Adriaan, the nonagenarian owner, confronts the inevitable march of time; like Aeneas, he must soon heed the call of destiny, leaving the rest behind.

Conversations illuminate the intertwined histories of suffering and redemption, honouring the multiple traces of existence that persist through time and space. Like Janus, the two-faced Etruscan god, the house speaks to life’s fragile impermanence and eternity’s enduring stillness.

Starring Thomas Michael Allen, Michael(a) Daoud, Ong Keng Sen, Adriaan van der Staay 
Text Adriaan van der Staay and Ong Keng Sen
Direction Ong Keng Sen
Direction of Photography & Editing Camille Lacadee
Composing, Sound Editing & Sound Recording Gabor Csongardi
Set Design Shahrzad Rahmani
Lighting Design Joseph Wegmann
Costume Design and Installation Design Michael(a) Daoud
Hair and Make Up Hassandra
Associate Set Designer Alice Faucher
Production Manager Alicia Agustín
Film Coloring Desiree Pfenninger
Producer Traslin Ong

Photos © Camille Lacadee | © Shahrzad Rahmani