Surviving Brandenburg
Auteur filmmaker Lazlo Kovac is denied funding for his film project. Too old, heart problems and no longer employable. Didn’t the Hungarian from Lake Balaton want to reach the top? What now? Continue to be dependent on his successful wife? Lazlo slides into a virtual life crisis and finds comfort in a “fantastic woman” from the neighboring village.
When a right-wing politician runs for the mayoral elections as the only candidate, Lazlo seems to come to his senses: In order to prevent the “right-wing bozo” from ruling over his village of 120 souls, he hastily allows himself to be nominated as a liberal counter-candidate. ÜBERLEBEN IN BRANDENBURG is a comedy about ageism and post-midlife crisis with a red-hot connection to the current political situation.
Cast
- Laszlo Kovacz
- Zoltan Paul
- Emma Meisel
- Adele Neuhauser
- Lisa
- Sabine Weibel
- Tilo Weidland
- Joachim Assböck
- Fritz Meisel
- Dietrich Hollinderbäumer
- Clemens
- Ralph Herforth
- Mario
- Werner Eng
- Karcsi
- Laszlo I Kish
- Andrzej
- André Fischer
Surviving Brandenburg
Ben von Grafenstein, Zoltan Paul
- Fiction
- Production Country / Year
- Germany 2023
- Language
- de., hu. OF mit en. UT
- Format
- DCP, Color, 82min
2.39:1, Discrete 5.1
- Original Title
- Überleben in Brandenburg
Director & Crew
Ben von Grafenstein
Born in 1975 in Würzburg. Worked as a film editor. Studied Scenic Directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Active as a writer and director.
Filmography
2007-2006 BLINDFLUG, Spielfilm
2011 KASIMIR UND KAROLINE, Spielfilm
2013 HELMUT SCHMIDT – LEBENSFRAGEN, Spielfilm
2014/15 DIE KLASSE - BERLIN 61, Spielfilm
2019 DIE UNGEWOLLTEN - DIE IRRFAHRT DER ST. LOUIS, Spielfilm
2022 LETZTER VORHANG, Kurzfilm
2023 ÜBERLEBEN IN BRANDENBURG (Co-Regie), Spielfilm HOF 2023
Zoltan Paul
Born in 1953 in Budapest/Hungary, died in 2022 in Brandenburg. Studied Acting in Vienna and worked for theater and television.
Filmography
2001 GONE, Kurzfilm
2004 GONE – EINE TÖDLICHE LEIDENSCHAFT, Spielfilm
2008 UNTER STROM, Spielfilm
2012 FRAUENSEE, Spielfilm HOF 2012
2014 AMOK – HANSI GEHT´S GUT, Spielfilm HOF 2014
2017 BREAKDOWN IN TOKYO, Spielfilm HOF 2017
2023 ÜBERLEBEN IN BRANDENBURG (Co-Regie), Spielfilm HOF 2023
“A few years ago, Zoltan asked me if I would cooperate with him on a Brandenburg film. Since he was going to play the main character, he wanted me to co-direct. We sketched first scenes, but I had to cancel. Then Zoltan died unexpectedly. Everyone was shocked. The wacky, but unfinished film was in limbo. After a long struggle, I decided to take over the baton, i.e., the direction. With the trust of the producers, Tina and Jan, and with my friends Nina and Sandra, I wrote the text, re-shot the film, edited it and brought it back to life. It’s a film about life and survival, just the way Zoltan was: a fun-loving, quirky bon vivant, a loyal friend.”
Ben von Grafenstein
- Writer
- Zoltan Paul
- Director of Photography
- Jan Kerhart
- Editor
- Ben von Grafenstein
- Production Designer
- Claus Rudolf Amler
- Costume Designer
- Ingrid Buhrmann
- Sound
- André Goeters
- Sound Designer
- Michael Schmidt
- Music Composer
- Julian Adam Pajzs
- Make-up
- Sherin Kohler
- Producer
- Clementina Hegewisch
- Jan Kerhart
