"In 2005, the German Federal Criminal Police, the BKA, was about to arrest an AI Qaida commander named Louai Sakra in Germany when he disappeared overnight without a trace. Sakra was known as a close ally of AI Qaeda in Iraq. To date, the heads of the BKA believe that the German Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, smuggled the high-ranking terrorist out of the country. Monday, March 23. 2020
GOETHE FILMS: Leinemann on the real-world inspiration for his 2019 spy thriller BLAME GAME
"In 2005, the German Federal Criminal Police, the BKA, was about to arrest an AI Qaida commander named Louai Sakra in Germany when he disappeared overnight without a trace. Sakra was known as a close ally of AI Qaeda in Iraq. To date, the heads of the BKA believe that the German Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, smuggled the high-ranking terrorist out of the country. Sakra was an informant on the payroll of the German foreign intelligence, when it suddenly unmasked him as a Syrian double agent. In view of the embarrassing findings that the BKA had gained during an interrogation, the command level of the BND decided to secretly return him to Syria.
Wilfried Albishausen of the Association of German Criminal Investigators (BDK) sharply criticized the BND's approach, as Louai Sakra committed further attacks in Iraq and Istanbul for which the BND is now partly to blame.
For a long time, I was fascinated by the idea of making a secret service thriller that shows how the network of lobbyism and politics is increasingly corrupting the work of the intelligence services. The relationship between the government and the intelligence services has moved in a fatal direction in recent years. Berlin has become deaf to the facts and findings of the intelligence services when they don’t serve the current political agenda. Spies on the ground were withdrawn years ago, so now even events like the Arab Spring catch western intelligence services off guard.
The storyteller in me has always been interested in detailed studies of social milieus. Be it the world of truckers in TRANSIT or the prejudice-imbued world of the police in THE KING’S SURRENDER, I always try to give the viewer a new look at a supposedly familiar world. I knew that I’d first have to acquire wide-ranging basic knowledge to tackle such a topic. So over the last few years, I devoured everything I could read about intelligence services, the Middle East and German and international foreign policy.
When I came across this event in the course of my research, it immediately gripped me. The fact that an agency that by law doesn’t even have executive powers was now risking such a tightrope walk to uphold its reputation both irritated and intrigued me. Although further crimes could have been prevented, this was hardly ever dealt with in the media."
Director Philipp Leinemann on the background for his 2019 thriller BLAME GAME, which was scheduled to have its North American premiere at GOETHE FILMS @ TIFF Lightbox, unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Wilfried Albishausen of the Association of German Criminal Investigators (BDK) sharply criticized the BND's approach, as Louai Sakra committed further attacks in Iraq and Istanbul for which the BND is now partly to blame.
For a long time, I was fascinated by the idea of making a secret service thriller that shows how the network of lobbyism and politics is increasingly corrupting the work of the intelligence services. The relationship between the government and the intelligence services has moved in a fatal direction in recent years. Berlin has become deaf to the facts and findings of the intelligence services when they don’t serve the current political agenda. Spies on the ground were withdrawn years ago, so now even events like the Arab Spring catch western intelligence services off guard.
The storyteller in me has always been interested in detailed studies of social milieus. Be it the world of truckers in TRANSIT or the prejudice-imbued world of the police in THE KING’S SURRENDER, I always try to give the viewer a new look at a supposedly familiar world. I knew that I’d first have to acquire wide-ranging basic knowledge to tackle such a topic. So over the last few years, I devoured everything I could read about intelligence services, the Middle East and German and international foreign policy.
When I came across this event in the course of my research, it immediately gripped me. The fact that an agency that by law doesn’t even have executive powers was now risking such a tightrope walk to uphold its reputation both irritated and intrigued me. Although further crimes could have been prevented, this was hardly ever dealt with in the media."
Director Philipp Leinemann on the background for his 2019 thriller BLAME GAME, which was scheduled to have its North American premiere at GOETHE FILMS @ TIFF Lightbox, unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis.
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