28.09.2022 | World premiere of "Rheingold"
Fatih Akin's new film "Rheingold" celebrates its world premiere at the anniversary edition of Filmfest Hamburg. It tells the story of Kurdish rapper, dealer, label founder and gold digger Giwar Hajabi, alias Xatar. It can't really be categorised into a genre, nor does it have to be. For the Hamburg-based Director, it is a new German mythology, as he tells us in an interview. The film was shot in Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands and, of course, Hamburg. A home game for Fatih Akin.
Wagner or Xatar? Which music is more likely to be heard in Akin's home?
Fatih Akin: Probably more Xatar.
What is your relationship to Richard Wagner? The film makes clear references to his opera "Rheingold" and the Nibelung saga.
Fatih AkinThe first time I consciously came into contact with Wagner was when I watched Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" as a teenager. There, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries underpins the legendary scene in which a Vietnamese village is attacked from the air. Wagner as psychological warfare, so to speak. Back then, I went to the bookshop and read all about Wagner and even bought the record with the soundtrack.
And now your film, which is based on the autobiography "Alles oder nix: Bei uns sagt man, die Welt gehört dir" by Xatar, is called "Rheingold" like the Wagner opera. Was Giwar's father, the respected Kurdish conductor and composer Eghbal Hajabi, actually a Wagner fan and told his son about the "Rheingold that makes you immortal"?
Fatih AkinNo, the family was probably more of a Beethoven fan, which fits in even better with the Beethoven city of Bonn. There, in the former capital of West Germany, the family from Iran found a new home after a long escape. And when I read the story of Xatar, the parallels struck me. According to legend, the Rheingold lies nearby in the Rhine, but no one has ever found it. The dental gold stolen by Xatar and some of his mates in a spectacular robbery in 2009 was never found either.
What fascinated you so much about it?
Fatih AkinFor me, Xatar's story is such a street mythology, migrants are the new German mythology.
Your film is based on the autobiography, but you make a point of saying that "Rheingold" is your interpretation of Xatar's story. What are the differences between the two Xatars?
Fatih Akin: I orientated myself very much on the real character. But I staged and cast it all more glamorously than it corresponds to reality. Emilio Sakraya was a direct hit. The cast and the glamour create a certain distance that I need. And I use my own humour for that. Because many of the things that happen there are heartily stupid. That's my interpretation.
How did you come across Xatar and his autobiography in the first place?
Fatih Akin: It's such a modern story. We've been following each other on Instagram for a long time and at some point it moved into the analogue world. I once asked him for a few records by his artists. He sent me a huge parcel with T-shirts, stickers and the biography. When I read it, I was totally fascinated and overwhelmed by his life story.
At first glance, it's a gangster film, but it can also be read as a coming-of-age story, a refugee story or a fairy tale. What is it for you?
Fatih Akin: Well, mythology, that is, when reality becomes mythology at some point. I can't assign the film to a genre at all, that's what I found so appealing about the story, that it's so eclectic, it touches on different genres. I found this to be a great generosity and also something very modern. Genre terms are too small.
As in many of your films, there are extremely brutal scenes. Why is the depiction of violence so important to you?
Fatih Akin: On the one hand, violence is a very visual means of creating a physical feeling in the viewer. I find that very appealing. But what is much more fascinating and the real reason is that violence is part of the characters and the world they live in. It's not part of my world at all. But as soon as you switch on the news, you see violence. Violence is omnipresent and I want to understand that and also portray it and show it to the audience. It's not just the Ottensen Bullerbü world.
Xatar is a very ambivalent character who acts primarily out of self-interest and without any scruples, even if it means hurting the people he loves. Will the audience love your Xatar?
Fatih AkinFor me, film is always a reflection of life. And many people's lives are not likeable. For me, amoral characters are always the more fascinating and complex ones. I think that if you believe what the person on the screen is doing and immerse yourself in their world, then it doesn't matter whether you really like them or not. The main thing is that a connection is created between the audience and the character.
You shot "Rheingold" in the Netherlands, Mexico and Morocco as well as in five different German states, including ten days in Hamburg. Which scenes were shot here?
Fatih Akin: I'm not a fan of naming it so precisely. It only leads to disillusionment. In "Rheingold", the scenes set in Hamburg are not set in Hamburg at all.
For you, filming in Hamburg is a home game, what is different here than in other cities or federal states?
Fatih Akin: Nowhere is it as pleasant to shoot as in Hamburg. The city isn't so filthy. In Berlin, crews are insanely expensive because American productions by Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and co. have driven up prices, in North Rhine-Westphalia many teams are heavily influenced by television. Here in Hamburg, however, you get incredibly professional teams, many things are possible because residents and the city are not so annoyed by filming. Hamburg is traditionally a film city and it's just great fun to shoot here, and I'm not just saying that because I'm from Hamburg.
