“FILMLAND” SAXONY-ANHALT IS SUCCESS! SAXONY-ANHALT: HERE CAMERA-READY www.medien-sachsen-anhalt.de CONTENTS TITLE: SAXONY-ANHALT AS FILM LOCATION – even George Clooney himself knows its value. He filmed “Monuments Men” in Merseburg, Halberstadt and Osterwieck. This German-American co-production from Obelisk Productions Limited and Studio Babelsberg received 400,000 euros in funding from MDM. 2 6 10 INTERVIEW: PORTRAIT: UNTOUCHED FILM DETLEV BUCK CLAUDIA MICHELSEN LOCATIONS 18 23 25 MMZ: EVERYTHING SAXONY-ANHALT FILM ARENDSEE YOUTH UNDER ONE ROOF FESTIVAL FILM CAMP 5 CURRENT NEWS FROM 22 ON THE ROAD WITH MARCO POLO: “FILM LAND” SAXONY-ANHALT MOTIONWORKS 8 FILM-MAKING IN SAXONY-ANHALT 24 MELODIES FOR THE SILVER SCREEN: 2011 – 2014 SAXONY-ANHALT’S FILM MUSIC FESTIVAL AND THE GERMAN FILM MUSIC AWARD 14 “WINNETOUS SOHN“ – THE FAMILY’S CHIEF 26 NO SEA IN SIGHT: FILM LOCATIONS IN SAXONY-ANHALT 16 “AXEL DER HELD” – ALL POWER TO THE CHICKENS 28 MEDIA LABORATORY – FUNDING FOR FILM-MAKING IN SAXONY-ANHALT 17 “DER LETZTE REMIX” – COPYING AS AN ART FORM 29 VISION PAYS OFF: TOP FUNDING FOR CREATIVE MINDS 21 MASTERS OF IMAGE AND SOUND: ARRI FILM AND TV SERVICES GMBH 1 EDITORIAL IN COLOUR AND WITH SOUND Hollywood may be a dream factory – in Saxony-Anhalt, we create facts. The world’s first viable multi-layer colour film was produced here: with “Agfacolor”, the Agfa film factory in Wolfen conquered the cinematic screen and stood up to the great DR. REINER HASELOFF Governor of the Federal State American Kodak Corporation. Saxony-Anhalt brought colour of Saxony-Anhalt to film. Today, film brings Saxony-Anhalt into the cinema. Increasingly, film makers are discovering the opportunities possible in film settings that are steeped in history, offer diversity, and, at the same time, are untouched. So it is, that Saxony-Anhalt has been used as the film location for such international film productions as “Monuments Men”, with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. It is also the backdrop for “The Physician”, which was seen by 3.5 million viewers. German production teams, too, are drawn to “Film Land” Saxony-Anhalt – here, with “Bibi and Tina”, Detlev Buck has twice managed to cast a spell over young filmgoers. Another important aspect is the considerable allure that the annual Saxony-Anhalt Film Music Festival in Halle (Saale) holds for the international film music branch. With state-of- the-art studios for film and sound production at the Central German Multimedia Centre (MMZ), this city, birthplace of G. F. Handel, has established itself as an important post-pro- duction centre. yours, Reiner Haseloff Governor of the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt 2 The Vitzenburg Castle is trans- formed for filming into the Falkenstein Castle. 3 INTERVIEW : DETLEV BUCK LANDING ON THE RIGHT GROUND “Florian David Fitz and I thought about buying a house in Saxony-Anhalt and starting a commune.” DETLEV BUCK At 53, Detlev Buck is a multi-talent: actor, producer, and director. He is cap- tivating, full of charm and humour, and with a big heart that sometimes leads him to quickly fall in love with a build- ing or a landscape. With a nose for just ground. That happened with “Bibi & Tina” be- the right material, he then sets off on cause it stirred something in teenagers – even in his path – to success. the boys, at this point. They are enjoying it more and more. That’s also on account of the songs, which simply push away anything negative. What films have you made so far in Saxony-Anhalt? The Vitzenburg Castle and the Arche Nebra, DETLEV BUCK: The whole world of Bibi and Tina: where you filmed, are inspirational locations. “Bibi & Tina – der Film” and “Bibi & Tina – Which came first – the “space” or the idea for Voll Verhext!” the story there? DETLEV BUCK: The idea always comes first. From It seems that the location also plays a main role the idea came the need to search for a Falken- in the films. How important is the right setting stein Castle that would resemble the castle in to the success of a film? the existing cartoon series. We travelled then DETLEV BUCK: It all goes together. Not just the throughout the countryside in Saxony-Anhalt, film location and the cast, but also the script, the and so came across the seemingly gigantic gold team, the atmosphere, the weather. And the fact bars of the Arche Nebra. We were inspired, and that you are able to film what you intend to film. thought, this would be the perfect home for a Ideally, the finished film also lands on the right “Goldfinger”-type villain – precisely our Kakmann! INTERVIEW : DETLEV BUCK 4 Tina and Bibi with their horses, Detlev Buck: Actor, Author, Amadeus and Sabrina Producer and Director So you fall in love with a castle and sidered, and now we simply come here for visits, start filming? as well as to make more films. DETLEV BUCK: No. The conditions at the Vitzen- burg castle allowed us to film outside and inside – You grew up on a farm and first studied we had almost studio-like conditions. But it has agriculture. Are you still emotionally drawn to to be said that many castles are falling into ruin. rural regions? Sometimes, because it can’t be clarified who DETLEV BUCK: You could say that. From an agri- the owner is, or sometimes because someone, cultural perspective, I highly value their potential, somewhere out there in the world, purchased but this is the reason we should also maintain the property for purely speculative purposes. This smaller ecosystems, for tourism as well as for type of owner should be legally required to pass film-making purposes. In the Saale-Unstrut on ownership, so that someone will take care of region, the historical structure is unique. Overall, these castles. we need to maintain this diversity. I am opposed to shopping malls in the fields – the distinctive- For you, what makes a film location good? ness of the area is then lost. DETLEV BUCK: Logistics are important, since the team needs to have a place to stay. In Nebra that Will you be filming along the Unstrut in the worked out well. There was a convenience store future? Do you already have ideas? nearby where you could buy things once shoot- DETLEV BUCK: We don’t want to become boring, ing was finished for the day. And, it was quiet. but a third “Bibi & Tina” film is in planning, since Among other things, we had very little airplane the first two were so well-received. Generally noise, which is always a problem in big cities. speaking, I probably wouldn’t go out now and get involved with a project about the Thirty In your opinion, what does Saxony-Anhalt Years’ War. Not because I’m not interested in it, have to offer? but because it is just a little too cost-intensive DETLEV BUCK: The actor Florian David Fitz and I for me. There are so many ideas, but you can’t actually thought about buying a house here and force a film out of them. I’ve tried that often starting a commune. We didn’t want to do this enough in the past. It takes a lot of energy to on a speculative basis though, and so we recon- lead a hippo to water. 5 CURRENT NEWS FROM “FILM LAND” SAXONY-ANHALT FILM PROJECT FILM PROJECT FILM PROJECT DIE MAISINSEL ZORN ALS WIR (“CORN ISLAND”) TRÄUMTEN (“WHILE WE DREAMED”) THE LIFE of 70-year-old Abga THIS IS NOW the third time ANDREAS DRESEN, in “Als wir and his granddaughter Asida that Zorn and Schröder are träumten”(from the novel of the are at the centre of the film involved in an investigation same name by Clemens Meyer), “Corn Island” by Georgian film- in Halle (Saale). This time, a tells the story of five friends maker, George Ovashvili. In the body found in the Saale River from Leipzig at the beginning of middle of the river that forms is confounding the detectives. the 1990s. A time during which that border between the coun- Commissioned by broadcaster societies and systems were col- try of Georgia and the rogue MDR, the film conglomerate liding head-on. The five friends Abchasien region, Abga and Nordost is filming “Zorn – Wo celebrate and wreak havoc, but Asida have a farm on a small kein Licht”. are really just looking for recog- island. When a young man nition and a better life. appears one day, their paradise AS IN previous productions, is endangered. author Stephan Ludwig, who FILMING of the entire film took also penned the novel, tells place in Saxony-Anhalt and THIS POETIC PARABLE, super- this suspenseful detective Saxony. In addition to Leipzig, imposed upon a political back- story with laconic, dry wit and shooting was also done in Halle drop, was awarded the Crystal much local colour. The director (Saale), Dessau and Dresden. Globe at the International Film is Christoph Schnee, recipient “Als wir träumten” is a co-pro- Festival in the Czech Repub- of numerous awards (“Charme duction of Rommelfilm, Iskremas lic city of Karlovy Vary. “Corn des Bösen”, “Mord mit Aus- Filmproduktion and Cinéma Island” made it onto the short sicht”). The programme is Defacto (F). Broadcast partners list of films for the Oscar for scheduled to be broadcast in are the broadcasting companies “Best Foreign Film”. 2016 on ARD. RBB, BR, MDR and Arte. THIS MDM-SPONSORED FILM THE Saxony-Anhalt Invest- THE SCRIPT was written by is a production of Alamdary ment Bank provided interim fi- Wolfgang Kohlhaase.