In "Am Ende der Worte", "Dark" star Lisa Vicari slips into the role of a young Hamburg policewoman who is torn between her ideals and the esprit de corps of her team. The drama was made as part of the "Nordlichter" programme for young talent by NDR, FFHSH and nordmedia. We spoke to Executive Producer Linus Günther (Klinkerfilm) about filming with corona restrictions, the Nordlichter application process and the topicality of the film's subject matter.
What guidelines did you have for your Northern Lights tour in 2019?
Linus GüntherWe were the first Nordlichter team that didn't have any thematic requirements. The only requirement was that it had to be a feature-length film. However, the idea for the material was born earlier - in 2017 during the G20 riots in Hamburg.
How did the team of you, Script Writer Lena Fakler and Director Nina Vukovic come together?
Linus GüntherLena and I already knew each other through my former colleague Sophia Ayissi Nsegue, who was in the same year as Lena at Hamburg Media School. After talking to Lena about the project, it quickly became clear that we also needed a female Director for a film about a female police officer. And so we did a pretty classic director casting. At this point, we already knew that the film would be funded as part of the "Nordlichter" programme.
Linus Günther produced "Am Ende der Worte" with his Hamburg-based company Klinkerfilm
How did the application process work for the Nordlichters?
Linus GüntherWe applied with a project portfolio. In the next step, we were then invited to an interview by NDR - in our case, the interview was with NDR editor Donald Kraemer, who later accompanied the film with very constructive and valuable feedback. At some point in the selection process, there are only a handful of projects left - and it was our script, along with a few others, that convinced the jury the most in autumn 2019
Lead actress Lisa Vicari is no longer an unknown quantity, at least since Dark. Why was she the right person for the role?
Linus GüntherLisa was of course already known to us from the series "Dark" when she came to the casting. Caster Anna Kowalski, Nina and I were particularly impressed by her wide range of acting skills. She can play very tough, but is also convincing in sensitive scenes. These are both qualities that were important for the role of the young policewoman Laura. It was of course very cool of her to support a Nordlichter, considering what she's done before. But she just really enjoyed the book.
Why is "Am Ende der Worte" an important film? The events surrounding police violence last year make it more relevant than ever.
Linus GüntherTo be honest, the topic of "police violence" is an old one, but the discourse is usually not very differentiated. We wanted to make a film in the police milieu that makes the greatest possible effort to portray everyday police life in all its facets: Sometimes it's totally boring, and in the blink of an eye a situation can escalate. Young people are put in extreme situations in which they make mistakes. These can be very serious, but often also human.
We happened to send the book out to some actors shortly after George Floyd's death. And then, logically, the feedback came back quite quickly: "Oh, you've done that quickly". Of course, we would never have thought in 2019 that the material would become so topical in the perception of the general public a year later.
Did you learn anything from the film or the story?
Linus GüntherRobin Williams once said "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always". Bad deeds don't always have to come from bad people. I think you have to keep reminding yourself of that. I definitely read articles about police violence and violence against police officers differently now and try not to take sides in advance.
Filming also took place in the refugee centre in Hamburg Niendorf. From left: actress Lisa Vicari, Nina Vukovic (Directors), Linus Günther and actor Ludwig Trepte
What was it like to shoot under corona measures?
Linus Günther: At the beginning of filming, the credo was: "Filming with us should be the safest way to make it to Christmas in good health". (laughs) To be honest, it was really difficult. But fortunately, we were strongly supported by the Nordlichter funding partners NDR, FFHSH and nordmedia to be able to implement the corona measures. Otherwise it wouldn't have been possible. Our actors had to take a PCR test twice a week - the extras were also subjected to a rapid test. When 50 people are tested first thing in the morning, that's a significant time factor.
It also takes much longer to serve the food if there is no longer an open buffet where everyone can help themselves. And we were filming in November, a month in which colds are actually quite normal. Now, however, you had to stay at home at the slightest sniffle - it really was a shiver every day. At the same time, you have to realise that you're lucky to be allowed to film at all in these times.
The quarantine of lead actress Lisa also caused a small moment of shock. She had been filming in Sweden directly before our shoot. Suddenly the decree came that you have to go into quarantine for five days when travelling back from abroad, even if you have a negative corona test. So we had to adjust the shooting schedule and our last day of shooting was now 22 December. Nothing more was allowed to happen to avoid slipping into Christmas. But luckily everything went well and we didn't have a single case of coronavirus on set.
Snapshot during the night filming in Niendorf
Where did you film in Hamburg and did everything go according to plan?
Linus GüntherWe had to remove many original locations from our list as they were not compatible with the coronavirus restrictions. Nevertheless, we found lots of exciting locations. For example, the Altonaer Balkon, the Bille power station, the Niendorf refugee centre, the Südpol and Nochtspeicher clubs, the Washington Bar - and even my parents' house! This is the very first Tatort with film, including two dead bodies. Fortunately, my parents weren't at home during the filming (laughs).
Credits: Alena Sternberg/Klinkerfilm
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This article was translated automatically. It can contain errors.
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