Film from Hamburg in the Oscar race

14.02.2019 | System sprinkler

Directors Nora Fingscheidt has brought a Silver Bear to Hamburg with her feature film debut "Systemsprenger" - and is now entering the Oscar race for Germany. The drama was produced by two young Hamburg-based companies, who landed their first major coup with "Systemsprenger". We met up with Jonas Weydemann (Weydemann Bros) and Frauke Kolbmüller (Oma Inge Film) for an interview.

How did you come up with your little leading lady Helena Zengel and why is she the perfect cast for the role of Benni?

Jonas WeydemannWe looked at over 150 children at the casting - and Helena was there right at the beginning. Even though many more came after her, we and Directors Nora Fingscheidt couldn't get her out of our minds. She has incredible energy, but can be very fragile at the same time. That was a great combination for the role of Benni.

Frauke KolbmüllerAnd because the film is all about Benni, we cast the other roles to suit her and made sure that she got on well with the other actors.

Leading actress Helena Zengel plays her role with incredible energy

Director and Script Writer Nora Fingscheidt has already won several awards for her script. What particularly grabbed you when you read the script for the first time?

Frauke KolbmüllerYou could already feel Benni's energy, aggression and awkwardness in the script. The film shows numerous parties and yet manages to do so without apportioning blame - we really liked that.

Jonas WeydemannThe film inspires a lot of understanding and shows that there is no "one" solution. You can see exactly how much research Nora has put into the project. Reading the script is enough to make you vacillate between laughter, tears and bewilderment.

The FFHSH at the set visit in Hamburg together with Frauke Kolbmüller (2nd from right) and Jonas Weydemann (3rd from right)

What was it like when you heard that your film was in the Berlinale competition?

Jonas WeydemannWe were of course incredibly happy and could hardly believe it. But then it was all a lot of work again, as the film wasn't finished at the time.

System sprinkler - What is it about?

The story centres on nine-year-old Benni (Helena Zengel), who drives the people around her to despair and is kicked out of each of her foster families after a short time. The drama is set in the environment of youth welfare offices, homes and foster families and is a project full of up-and-coming talent from Hamburg: from Directors and Script Writer Nora Fingscheidt to the young production companies Weydemann Bros. and Oma Inge Film. Fingscheidt has already received several awards for her script, including the Emder Drehbuchpreis. With over 35 days of shooting, the majority of the filming took place in Hamburg in early 2018.

A large part of the filming took place in Hamburg. Which motifs will we all get to see in the film?

Frauke KolbmüllerThe film is not set in a specific city - that's why you won't see any landmarks. But you will see neighbourhoods and outlying districts. However, Hamburg was a great location for us because the authorities were very co-operative and the distances are relatively short.

Jonas Weydemann: From the architecture as a whole, however, you can see very quickly that it is a northern German city. And as Hamburgers, we notice that in every picture.

With child actors, you have to adhere to very specific rules. What are the differences to filming with adults?

Jonas WeydemannThere is only a limited filming time of five hours per day, which is why we ended up with a total of 67 days. It's not business as usual - the aerials are simply extended further, as you're constantly checking how Helena and the other child actors are doing.

Frauke KolbmüllerWhen children are filming for so long, you naturally have to give them the opportunity to continue school. Helena had a private teacher and she even wrote class assignments during the filming break - all with a very good grade, of course (laughs)

Jonas WeydemannWe have tried to depict the normal rhythm of Helena's everyday life so that she is not completely torn out.

Will you be working together on other projects in the future?

Jonas WeydemannIt was a great collaboration and we would love to do more projects if it helps the projects.

Frauke KolbmüllerIt felt as if we had been working together for a very long time, even though we actually only got to know each other during the project.

Credits: Filmstills: kineo Film / Weydemann Bros. / Yunus Roy Imer Portrait Jonas: Peter Hartwig Portrait Frauke: Marcus Gaertner