Big dramas + small comedies + quirky characters

Ben, who is in his mid-thirties, actually only drives people around Hamburg in his Uber for six episodes - and tries to get his life together on the side. Doesn't sound particularly exciting at first. But the series "From the Diary of an Uber Driver" has its own vibe, which manages without any cliffhangers or big suspenseful arcs and yet never lets the viewer go. Lead actor Kostja Ullmann does a really good job, as does the no less prominent cast: Edin Hasanovic, Pheline Roggan and Fahri Yardim are among those in the back seat - the latter is also an Executive Producer with his companyBon Voyage Films on board. "Big dramas, small comedies, quirky characters" is how he succinctly describes the new series on the official website.

One of the secret stars of the series, however, is the Hanseatic city itself: "We were constantly amazed at how beautiful Hamburg is. During a small montage of our drone shots, we were even really emotionally moved," reveals Bon Voyage Films CEO Amir Hamz. The series also shows a diverse Hamburg in all its facets.

They were also surprised by the great weather - when the series was filmed from October to November 2019, it didn't rain a drop for the first four weeks. Rather unusual for the city on the Elbe. But ideal conditions for filming, as many of the shots took place outdoors. "We discussed with Joyn in advance whether we should shoot the car driving shots in the studio. However, this would have limited our image resolution options so much that we decided against it in the end. Everything was shot on a trailer, i.e. an oversized trailer that pulls the car along the road," reveals Christian Springer, who is also a member of the CEO team at Bon Voyage Films. Directors Julian Pörksen found the car shoot a bit of a challenge: It often had to be staged from the boot, but this worked surprisingly well.

The original concept for the series came from Australia, or rather from a blog by former Australian Uber Drivers Ben Phillips. At the Berlinale 2019, Bon Voyage entered into dialogue with the global distributor, who presented the series to the Bon Voyagists for the first time. It was quickly agreed that the series idea would fit perfectly into the Bon Voyage portfolio. However, where the original often only scratches the surface, especially with the main characters, the German spin-off elaborates on the emotional world of the characters and, according to Hamz, gives the series more depth and a common thread. Every episode is different: sometimes a scene starts in a car, sometimes outside - and sometimes you wonder whether you've even switched on the right series. But after a few minutes, you feel as comfortable and safe again as you would with your trusted Uber driver.

Directors Julian Pörksen also came to the attention of Bon Voyage Films indirectly at the Berlinale. His feature film debut "Whatever happens next", a road movie about a dropout, screened in the Perspektive section in 2018. "I really liked the film back then. We finally got in touch with Julian via the Hamburg-based Executive Producer and friend Stefan Gieren. Stefan was full of praise - and we can more than confirm that after our collaboration with Julian. A really clever colleague who got on very well with the colourful ensemble of actors," reveals Amir Hamz. This means that Pörksen would also be ideally suited for a second season, which is currently very likely thanks to the positive response. We want more Uber stories from the Hanseatic city and are keeping all our fingers crossed.