Interview de Katia Von Garnier concernant BANDITS-618
Between "Abgeschminkt" and your new film, "Bandits", three years have gone by. A fairly long time.
That’s true. Since Ewa and I had produced "Abgeschminkt" ourselves, we had to carry out the follow-up work during the following year: festivals, world distribution, etc. That represented a great deal of work for two people. Following that, I juggled with a few script offers. Since none of them really won me over, I started writing.
What were your predominant criteria ?
I opted for a musical. I confess that "Hair" has always been my favourite film and, up until now, no other has been able to replace it. I also wanted to work with Katja (Reimann) again. Then, with Ben Taylor, who already co-wrote "Abgeschminkt", I set out the main lines of our new story: four women in jail, a rock band, a police ball, an escape, a hostage, etc. During a party, I was able to see Coco and Jasmin dancing together. The two of them gave off such energy that I absolutely had to have that in the film. With Uwe Wilhelm, we started writing a tailor-made script for these three girls. We still need to find the fourth one.
So Jutta Hoffmann joined you later ?
Exactly. For Marie, I wanted a more mature actress with enormous presence. A radiant personality but always in perfect harmony with the other three. I was delighted to be able to have Jutta for the part.
In "Bandits", everything revolves around music. Is it a musical film ?
Yes. But not in the usual sense. There’s a blend of genres in "Bandits". Drama and music. I suppose you could talk about a musical drama. Personally, I’m fascinated by heroic films and, in developing this particular script, I took a close look at mythology. I was trying to understand what makes up a hero deep down. The characters in our film had to be bigger than life. Genuine movie characters.
What is the function of the music in "Bandits" ?
For the women prisoners, it represents a breath of life that allows them to deal with their feelings: anger, hatred and despair. This was the film’s basic idea. Music as a safety valve. It’s like a bridge that the women meet up on. I wondered why, in my everyday life, music fascinates me so much; I think that it allows us to surpass those morose moments, or even to turn sorrow into something to remember.
Do certain scenes in the film come across as music videos in order to get across the idea of the music better ?
It goes without saying that the combination of sound and the image are mutually interdependent. The music defines the rhythm. Even without MTV, "Bandits" would have had this style. From the word go, we wanted to make a modern film. I don’t reject music videos. In fact, I love watching them and often find fascinating things in them.
In "Bandits", you’ve shot action scenes for the first time ?
While we were shooting on the Köhlbrand Bridge, I kept thinking about a chapter in William Goldman’s book, "Adventures in the Screen Trade", when he describes shooting on the bridge at Arnhem. We experienced very much the same thing. We were also the first film production to obtain permission to shoot there. Of course, it involved a number of scheduling and technical problems. In all, we were given a day and a half’s shooting to film a load of complicated scenes. For instance, in a single day, we were supposed to complete the shooting of a stunt, a complicated tracking shot with a crane, two explosions and, on top of it all, we absolutely needed to complete a scene where the girls were on the outside of the parapet. For each explosion scene, we only had six minutes. One mistake and I’d lose everything. Still, you have to make the best of it. Each moment had to be meticulously planned out. Two units were shooting at the same time. This is unimaginable if you look at the final cut. Explosions, attacks, helicopter sequences… All in two six-minute takes!
People often say that a second film is tougher. Did that worry you ?
Perhaps it would have done if I’d shot this film straight after "Abgeschminkt". But a fair bit of time passed between the two…
For "Bandits", you had a relatively important budget. Did that allow you fulfil all your desires ?
Whatever the sum at your disposal, I believe that you always think you don’t have enough. Of course, you feel responsible in relation to the backers who trust you and who have invested a great deal in a project. We have done everything that we could to make a big screen movie with extreme emotions and a decent appearance. That required each of us to do pioneering work. On a technical level, a musical isn’t that easy to make. I was lucky with Olga Film. They believed in my vision of the film completely. I am convinced that the final film reflects every penny invested.
Currently, there are more and more hit German films. Isn’t that rather encouraging ?
Each hit German film delights me. It’s the best way of convincing financiers to invest in local talent. Who knows, maybe that will lead to increased production of films with wider distribution.
That’s true. Since Ewa and I had produced "Abgeschminkt" ourselves, we had to carry out the follow-up work during the following year: festivals, world distribution, etc. That represented a great deal of work for two people. Following that, I juggled with a few script offers. Since none of them really won me over, I started writing.
What were your predominant criteria ?
I opted for a musical. I confess that "Hair" has always been my favourite film and, up until now, no other has been able to replace it. I also wanted to work with Katja (Reimann) again. Then, with Ben Taylor, who already co-wrote "Abgeschminkt", I set out the main lines of our new story: four women in jail, a rock band, a police ball, an escape, a hostage, etc. During a party, I was able to see Coco and Jasmin dancing together. The two of them gave off such energy that I absolutely had to have that in the film. With Uwe Wilhelm, we started writing a tailor-made script for these three girls. We still need to find the fourth one.
So Jutta Hoffmann joined you later ?
Exactly. For Marie, I wanted a more mature actress with enormous presence. A radiant personality but always in perfect harmony with the other three. I was delighted to be able to have Jutta for the part.
In "Bandits", everything revolves around music. Is it a musical film ?
Yes. But not in the usual sense. There’s a blend of genres in "Bandits". Drama and music. I suppose you could talk about a musical drama. Personally, I’m fascinated by heroic films and, in developing this particular script, I took a close look at mythology. I was trying to understand what makes up a hero deep down. The characters in our film had to be bigger than life. Genuine movie characters.
What is the function of the music in "Bandits" ?
For the women prisoners, it represents a breath of life that allows them to deal with their feelings: anger, hatred and despair. This was the film’s basic idea. Music as a safety valve. It’s like a bridge that the women meet up on. I wondered why, in my everyday life, music fascinates me so much; I think that it allows us to surpass those morose moments, or even to turn sorrow into something to remember.
Do certain scenes in the film come across as music videos in order to get across the idea of the music better ?
It goes without saying that the combination of sound and the image are mutually interdependent. The music defines the rhythm. Even without MTV, "Bandits" would have had this style. From the word go, we wanted to make a modern film. I don’t reject music videos. In fact, I love watching them and often find fascinating things in them.
In "Bandits", you’ve shot action scenes for the first time ?
While we were shooting on the Köhlbrand Bridge, I kept thinking about a chapter in William Goldman’s book, "Adventures in the Screen Trade", when he describes shooting on the bridge at Arnhem. We experienced very much the same thing. We were also the first film production to obtain permission to shoot there. Of course, it involved a number of scheduling and technical problems. In all, we were given a day and a half’s shooting to film a load of complicated scenes. For instance, in a single day, we were supposed to complete the shooting of a stunt, a complicated tracking shot with a crane, two explosions and, on top of it all, we absolutely needed to complete a scene where the girls were on the outside of the parapet. For each explosion scene, we only had six minutes. One mistake and I’d lose everything. Still, you have to make the best of it. Each moment had to be meticulously planned out. Two units were shooting at the same time. This is unimaginable if you look at the final cut. Explosions, attacks, helicopter sequences… All in two six-minute takes!
People often say that a second film is tougher. Did that worry you ?
Perhaps it would have done if I’d shot this film straight after "Abgeschminkt". But a fair bit of time passed between the two…
For "Bandits", you had a relatively important budget. Did that allow you fulfil all your desires ?
Whatever the sum at your disposal, I believe that you always think you don’t have enough. Of course, you feel responsible in relation to the backers who trust you and who have invested a great deal in a project. We have done everything that we could to make a big screen movie with extreme emotions and a decent appearance. That required each of us to do pioneering work. On a technical level, a musical isn’t that easy to make. I was lucky with Olga Film. They believed in my vision of the film completely. I am convinced that the final film reflects every penny invested.
Currently, there are more and more hit German films. Isn’t that rather encouraging ?
Each hit German film delights me. It’s the best way of convincing financiers to invest in local talent. Who knows, maybe that will lead to increased production of films with wider distribution.