Where does evil come from?

How did you come up with the story?

Katrin Gebbe: Since my filmTore dances I have always wondered where the "evil" in some people comes from. What kind of childhood do psychopaths have, for example? Is there a pattern? Is it even possible to change it? I then watched a documentary called "Child of Rage". An interview with a five-year-old girl who was adopted and was virtually emotionally numb. At the same time, my "Tore tanzt" Executive Producer Verena Gräfe-Höft came to me and told me about a newspaper article about a boy who also kept his adoptive parents in check. We both found the topic really exciting and wanted to do something about it.

The more we researched, the more we realised that the mother is the person who makes the decisions and is most caught up in this dilemma. Often only the mother remains, as the men leave the relationship. We then met people who are really stuck in these situations and are reaching their physical and mental limits. These people are then often left all alone at some point.

You have already made "Tore tanzt" together with your Executive Producer Verena Gräfe Höft from Junafilm. Are there elements that can be found in both films?

Katrin Gebbe: They do exist, but I only realised that in the course of developing the script. "Pelican Blood" speaks very strongly to the theme of faith: Both films show protagonists who fight radically for their convictions, even in the face of failure. At the same time, the films also question this idealism. Perhaps this is also a personal dilemma that I have to work through again and again. (laughs) In any case, the subject fascinates me very much.

Did you immediately have Nina Hoss in mind for the role?

Katrin Gebbe: We actually had her on our radar for another project. However, I didn't pursue that project at some point. And for Pelikanblut we needed a strong actress with great quality who could also be bought into the path she takes in the film. We then sent the book to her agent - and a day later we heard back that Nina wanted to meet with us. She really identified with the character and couldn't put the story down.

How did you find the little leading lady Katerina Lipovska?

Katrin Gebbe: For me, it was important that our actress actually spoke Bulgarian. We had a great casting agent in Sofia and then looked at lots of children and quickly realised that schoolchildren were no longer suitable for the role, as they behaved far too grown-up and no longer fulfilled the cute little-child stereotype. With the kindergarten children, on the other hand, the lack of concentration was a problem - they also found it difficult to separate the role from themselves. But then there was one child, Kati, who fidgeted around on her office chair, making loud noises. She was very self-confident, cheeky and had no inhibitions at all. Her mum was also a children's coach and Kati had already been on stage and in front of an audience several times. She was also the only one who could play the violent outbursts and the dark side and somehow still had a sweet and cute manner.

What is a children's casting like?

You start off very small. I first asked the children questions and watched how they moved in front of the camera and what they said. Then we continued with improvisation - and finally we acted out individual scenes - first in Bulgarian and then in German. I could quickly see who could memorise sentences and stay in character. A lot of preparation was necessary before filming began, and there was also a moment when I was no longer allowed to change the children's scenes and dialogue so that they had enough time to learn them.

You live in Hamburg - do you have a favourite Hamburg film?

Katrin Gebbe: That would definitely be "Against the Wall" by Fatih Akin. For me, it's his best film with great characters and actors.

And are there any Hamburg creatives you would like to work with?

I have already worked with many great people from Hamburg. But Andrew Bird comes to mind off the top of my head. I would love to do something with him at some point.