In September, we introduced you to
Berlin filmmaker Konstantin Bock and his new project THE ICE KING in our series "The Making of" that
follows two German-Canadian film projects over one year. Now we're checking in with the team to hear about script labs, funder pitches, and avoiding the pitfalls of stereotyping a global espionage story.
Thank you for introducing us to the story behind THE ICE KING last time. What development stage are you at with the project, what has happened since we spoke a few weeks ago?
A lot!
My co-writer Stefanie and I worked on further elaborating the story into a more detailed pitch.
We went much deeper into the character, intensified our research and interviewed people who knew our protagonist Heinz Weifenbach and could tell us more about his personality and motivations. We also became more familiar with the world that our story takes place in. Then we met with several producers and absolutely clicked with Katja Adomeit & Tine Mikkelsen from Danish-German
production company Adomeit Film. Together, we put together a 30-page document to present the film to funding bodies and Script Labs like Torino, who are especially great at supporting original ideas.
We’re basically looking for support now, to be able to move on with the script. It was great to meet people who believe in the story as much as we do and are excited to find ways to make it happen. There’s a great energy and momentum in the team. The next challenge will be to find funding for the actual script writing.
So what elevator pitch do you give potential funders and other co-producers?
I’ll let our producer Tine Mikkelsen of Adomeit Film answer this one!
"The main character as well as the project as such have an irresistible charm -- it’s about not giving up and always finding a new solution … even if this solution turns out to be crazy. The fascination of a real-life person with this much quirky decisiveness is what makes the project unique and entertaining. The research Konstantin and Stefanie have executed is extraordinary and was inspiring for us as producers to be introduced to -- we instantly had the feeling that this story has to come to life! The images formed instantly as Konstantin spoke about the main character, the time and the setting -- a real-life story that is a crazy as you’d think only fiction can be. Konstantin has a distinct sensitivity throughout all his projects –be it documentary, fiction or theatre-- with a strong focus on character portraits. We see Konstantin as the perfect match for this story.“
Konstantin, you’re entering hot political terrain with this film, involving questions of terrorism and global espionage. How are you going to approach the potential pitfalls of a European sports exec meeting a North African military dictator in THE ICE KING?
The deeper we went into developing the character, the more we got into the intricacies and complexities of the politics that surround our story. It‘s crucial in order to understand why our characters act the way they do within their society, because essentially we’re translating a global moral dilemma into a very personal, character-driven story, a love story. But it’s important to remember that although we talk about the impact of politics on the private, the core of our story is an emotional journey. This journey is full of stereotypes and that is a challenge, so a lot of our work right now is to come up with surprising and un(for)seen ways to tell this story. We’re trying to think of new perspectives on things that everybody thought they knew...
To be continued in January 2020...
In December, we will catch up with filmmaker Stephanie Weimar and her new project.
interview by
Jutta Brendemühl
image: Gaddafi and Weifenbach, courtesy K. Bock
