Donald Trump may seem like he sprang forth
fully formed from America’s collective unconscious,
but his paternal roots can actually
be traced to the quaint German village of
Kallstadt, a tiny community that remarkably
produced both the Trump and Heinz dynasties.
Director Simone Wendel employs her
delightfully wry wit in drawing out Kallstadt’s
charming villagers about Trump’s grandfather,
who went to seek his fortune in America,
failed, returned, and then was—are you ready
for this?—deported back to the US! We get to
watch The Donald as he hears this family immigrant
story for the first time, and it is priceless.
Then a gaggle of Kallstadtians decides to
go to the US to visit the Heinz ketchup factory
and also attempt to meet Trump. Wendel’s
gem plays like a real-life Christopher Guest
movie, taking you inside the ancestral home of
American’s strangest presidential candidate.
In Person: Director Simone Wendel; Cinematographer
Tom Schneider; Writer Mario Conte