A Wave Hit Me. 15 Min Later, My Dad Was Gone | Simon Verhoeven
About this episode
Simon Verhoeven and Steven Miyao discuss the impact of losing their fathers and the search for internal validation amidst external success.
What happens when you finally win the award you spent your whole life chasing — and it gives you nothing?In this episode of The Midlife Remix, Steven Miyao sits down with Simon Verhoeven — one of Germany's most successful film directors, son of Senta Berger and the late Michael Verhoeven, and the filmmaker behind the acclaimed, award-honored tragicomedy Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke (Die Lücke). But this conversation has nothing to do with making movies. Simon and Steven have been friends for more than 50 years — their families go back generations, and they were photographed together as babies in the same backyard.Both men recently lost their fathers. Both have mothers in their eighties. In a rare, unguarded talk, they explore what it means to suddenly become "the adult" in the family, why external success no longer brings satisfaction, and the difference between chasing validation and finding it within yourself. Simon shares the surreal moment a "wave of warmth" washed over him on a film set — fifteen minutes before he learned his father had died — and why he believes the void grief leaves behind shouldn't be closed, but carried.Along the way…
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