Made in Germany — production still

Made in Germany

Zeitpunkt X

Short Film · 2022 · Comedy-Satire · 26 min

a ifs internationale filmschule cologne production
in coproduction with Franziska Wieden, Simon Schneider & Tim Egner
funded by Thüringer Staatskanzlei
distributed by interfilm GmbH

A nearly finished construction site. The wiring is completed, the walls are painted, the final inspections are being done. The construction manager Thomas Zetzsche is proud of his achievement. The prestigious building he created is a modern dream come true. But suddenly that dream begins to crumble as more and more defects appear. Cables run into dead ends, the fire protection malfunctions and entire rooms go missing. Desperately Thomas is trying to fix the building until he finally accepts that the opening date has to be postponed. Now he must confront his own responsibility in this faulty system and draw the necessary consequences.

Festival Award Festival Award Festival Award Festival Award

Cast

  • Cornelius Schwalm
  • Annekathrin Bach
  • Theresa Berlag
  • Stephan Benson
  • Marc Fischer
  • Hanna Werth
  • Karolina Horster

Crew

  • Director Simon Schneider
  • Writer Simon Schneider, Dario Haramustek
  • Producer Franziska Wieden
  • Cinematographer Martina Di Lorenzo
  • Editor Tim Egner
  • Composer Hannes Bieber
  • Casting Director Sophie Molitoris
  • Production Designer Jessica Kaczmarek, Clara Wanke
  • Costume Designer Mara Schönborn
  • Hair & Makeup Judith Grothenrath
  • Sound Design Tim Egner
  • Sound Mixing Hubertus Rath, Tim Egner
  • Visual Effects Sebastian Esposito, Lukas Wieg

For a long time I have been fascinated how we as humans are able to come together in a way that we can collectively create things which exceed the contribution of each individual. For me, big construction projects represent this specific process in an archaic way. In those projects people literally build their own world. And yet, prestigious construction projects in Germany fail on a daily basis.

After researching this topic intensively, I realized that these projects fail for exactly the same reasons why we as humanity currently fall short. They don't go awry because the people involved are all incompetent. They fail because certain few people make self-centered decisions based on motives like maintaining power, status and pride — which prevents the actual project from ever succeeding. Since this phenomenon of people banding together and thereby rendering themselves ineffective, of people wanting to create while failing miserably, is so tragic, the only way to approach this subject is through a humorous lens.

Made in Germany — Poster
  • Film Festival Max Ophüls Prize 2022 — Audience Award Winner (Best Short Film)
  • Filmfest Bremen 2023 — Jury Prize Winner (Best Middle-length Film)
  • German Film and Media Rating — Seal of approval, Highly recommended
  • New Directors New Film Festival 2020 — Fest Award (Pitching Award)
  • Robert Bosch Stiftung 2020 — Producers Network Award
  • Disney+
  • Apple TV
  • ARTE (short film program "Kurzschluss")
  • MDR (public German television broadcaster)
  • RBB (public German television broadcaster)
  • ARD Mediathek (public German streaming service)
  • 43rd Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival 2022, Germany
  • 22nd Landshut Short Film Festival 2022, Germany
  • 8th Filmfest Bremen 2023, Germany
  • 14th Shortynale Short Film Festival 2022, Austria
  • 44th Biberach Film Festival 2023, Germany
  • 34th Bamberg Short Film Days 2023, Germany
  • 10th Hagen Short Film Festival 2022, Germany
  • 21st Signes de Nuit International Festival 2023, Paris, France
  • 24th International Film Festival of Architecture 2023, Annecy, France
  • 15th Greenpoint Film Festival 2023, New York City, USA
  • 18th KAFFNY Infinite Cinema, New York City, USA