Laugh the pain into the pit of your stomach with "Billie"

From Sainabu Fye

"There's also Nettelnburg. Have you ever looked at the district?" Sheri Hagen actually wanted to shoot in Mümmelmannsberg. It was the mix of different cultures and classes that drew the Directors there to shoot her film. But there was no fountain there, which is a central motif in the film. So it was all the better that Hamburg Location Scout Tilman Westecker suggested Nettelnburg. The neighbourhood in Hamburg-Bergedorf immediately won Hagen over with its high-rise buildings and, above all, the Werner-Neben-Platz. As a result, the red-paved forecourt was transformed into a set with a second-hand shop that became an Arabic grocery shop and a colourful work of art that became a fountain. The location was not only atmospherically perfect, but also ecologically sensible: short distances, reduced transport and some actors who came directly by S-Bahn in the morning. "I was blown away by Nettelnburg," recalls Hagen. Above all, she found the social facets she was looking for for "Billie" here.

Mosquito bites of the society

How do you translate these social conflicts and structures without losing any of the lightness? Hagen does it by not telling a linear drama, but by staging an ensemble that functions like a microcosm:
It all begins when single mum Angie (Thelma Buabeng) needs 300 euros for her daughter's school trip. She turns to the bank - where she meets Marc (Timo Jacobs), the husband of her best friend Nina (Ruby Commey). When he refuses the small loan, the situation spirals out of control and a harmless request turns into an accidental hostage situation. The bank becomes a burning glass in which different realities of life and dependencies collide. Subtle forms of everyday racism, discrimination and misunderstandings become visible - those "mosquito bites", as Hagen calls them, that are triggered by society.

At the same time, the film also deals with the topic of domestic violence. For the Directors, it was important to find a form of representation in which violence is not simply reproduced with violence: "I wanted to find a different form of dependency, but one that is just as violent in a perfidious way." To achieve this, Hagen works with movement and tempo. There are protagonists who embody acceleration and deceleration. And dance scenes that make the power games and dynamics between the characters tangible in a non-verbal way. In this way, Hagen visualises "what it means to let go and how difficult it is - but also how to accept power and throw it back again."

And yet: despite the unpleasant to unbearable mosquito bites, "Billie" leaves room to breathe a sigh of relief and laugh.

Above all, it is also a story about cohesion, friendship and solidarity - especially among women.  Perhaps the feeling of "community" in this case is comparable to an anti-mosquito candle on the evening terrace: it not only protects against the little bites of everyday life, but also provides warmth and light in the dark.

A cast that hits the pit of the stomach

For the balancing act between humour and tragedy, Hagen attached great importance to a cast that could convey both. To achieve this, she deliberately did not look for "smooth actors*, but faces in which something new can constantly be discovered." One thing quickly became clear: "For Angie, I wanted Thelma Buabeng." And for Nina, she met Ruby Commey. She found Sannrae Rehnström, the actress playing the young daughter Maja, by chance during a shoot in Hamburg.