Herr Schultz sets sail

Short documentary Duration: 20 minutes "House or boat?” This was the question Kurt Schultz asked his family of 6 in 1957. After successfully escaping from the GDR, the family lives on 50 square metres in an allotment garden association on Billerhuder Insel, in Hamburg. Kurt Schultz gets his way. Despite the cramped conditions, he decided to build a boat. The choice for the realisation of a dream, and against a secure standard of living. The 10-metre-long yacht made of steel is built with improvised means over years of personal labour. But not everyone is happy with this decision

The story behind

In 2011, Friederike Schultz visited me with a huge box full of her grandfather's photo albums. "You have to make a film about my grandfather!"

Why? Because it's a perfectly documented history of Hamburg and post-war Germany.

The film was then made single-handedly, so to speak, mainly in the editing room over a period of 6 months: photos were scanned, films digitised. At some point, underwater shots were even taken with the DoP Stefan Lindenau.

A great source of inspiration was the music. Composer Nathan Steinhagen composed the original score. Then the Hamburg Submarine Orchestra improvised for the film. The result was a film that is 100% Hamburg. About a Hamburger, Hamburger history, and realised by a team from Hamburg.

Credits

Written and directed by Frank Müller

DoP: Stefan Lindenau, Frank Müller

Motion Design: Michael Lübben, Frank Müller

Sound: Fabian Neun

Sound Mixing: Pierre Brand

Music: Nathan Steinhagen, U-Boot Orchester

Production: Kerstin Reich

Funded by Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein

Awards

Special mention at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck / Germany

Innovation award from the Lord Mayor at the video film days in Koblenz / Germany

Premio a miglior Montaggio at the La Guarimba Film Festival in Amantea / Italy

3rd Audience award on the artistic handle roll in Heide / Germany

3rd Premio CATEGORIA MEDIO DOCUMENTAL Certamen Internacional de Cortometrajes Roberto Di Chiara / Argentina

Festivals

2012 Videofilmtage Koblenz / Germany

2012 Diessener Kurzfilmfestival / Germany

2012 Interfilm Berlin / Germany

2013 International Shortfilmfestival, Kiev / Ukrain

2013 Salon de la Luc, Bogota / Colombia

2013 La Guarimba Amantea / Italy

2013 Kunstgriffrolle Heide / Germany

2013 Vagrant Filmfestival, Minsk / Belarus

2013 Ko & Digital Film Festival, Barcelona / Spain

2013 Schwenninger Kurzfilmfestival / Germany

2013 European Filmfestival Göttingen / Germany

2013 Goiamum Audiovisual Festival / Brasil

2013 Nile's Diaspora International Filmfestival Kampala / Uganda

2014 Festival internacional de Cine de Lebu Cañete / Chile

2014 Festimatge - Festival de la imatgo de Calella / Spain

2014 Feria Internacional de Cine de Manizales / Colombia

2014 Festival de Tanger / Marocco

2014 Daroca & Prison Filmfestival / Spain

2014 Cinespacio Cali / Columbia

2014 XI Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes / Peru

2014 Certamen Internacional de Cortometrajes Roberto Di Chiara / Argentina

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