Malte Wirtz is a German director and writer celebrated for his unconventional filmmaking approach. He introduced #ZOGMA, a new digital-only film genre, establishing himself as a trailblazer in German indie cinema.

Malte Wirtz | Sooner Cast

A German director and writer celebrated for his unconventional filmmaking approach

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And what is his new, purely digital film genre #ZOGMA?

Why does Malte Wirtz send his actors text messages during filming?

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Malte Wirtz is a German director and writer celebrated for his unconventional filmmaking approach. After graduating in 1999, he has worked as a theater and film director, collaborating with various theaters in Germany. His films are characterized by their unique, playful, and experimental nature, often incorporating audience interaction and creative techniques, including shooting entirely on digital platforms.

 Wirtz is known for his pioneering methods, such as influencing actors through text messages during filming, a concept he expanded on in "Digital Life," a film entirely shot on Zoom Video Communications. He introduced #ZOGMA, a new digital-only film genre, establishing himself as a trailblazer in German indie cinema.

Find out more about Maltes favorite movies on sooner

Discover also Malte Wirtz' curated Channel!

Pia Frankenberg explores the uncertainties around us as she leans into the chaotic confusion of life without drawing set-in-stone conclusions. After first making two short films, she made two feature-length movies then released her last feature as director, "Never Sleep Again", in 1992.

Pia Frankenberg - Retrospektive

As radical, rebellious and provocative, as light-footed and hilarious as no other.

Then she put the camera aside and preferred to write novels. We asked Pia Frankenberg: Why?

In the 80s, she was one of the most exciting filmmakers in Germany. 

Pia Frankenberg explores the uncertainties around us as she leans into the chaotic confusion of life without drawing set-in-stone conclusions. After first making two short films, she made two feature-length movies then released her last feature as director, "Never Sleep Again", in 1992. 

It is fair to say that her storytelling has retained relevance and topicality thanks to the frictions she addresses in her work where the personal and political collide. SOONER is showing all 5 Pia Frankenberg films, and spoke to her and released the interview on Soonercast.

Discover the unique Pia Frankenberg retrospective

Director Eva Neidlinger believes there is power in filmmaking - the power to make a difference. You can hear how she found her way from nursing into film, which also took her through Lviv, in the SOONERCAST interview with her. The Into The Wild mentee has had a good relationship with Ukraine for a long time.

Eva Neidlinger - Into the Wild Mentoring

Making a difference is in Eva's blood. She found her start in nursing to now bring light to difficult topics as a filmmaker.

And what was Eva Neidlinger's path from nursing to film?

Director Eva Neidlinger believes there is power in filmmaking - the power to make a difference. You can hear how she found her way from nursing into film, which also took her through Lviv, in the SOONERCAST interview with her. The Into The Wild mentee has had a good relationship with Ukraine for a long time. Through friendships from her youth, she has often traveled to the country and has been dealing with politics long before the total invasion in February 2022. Her documentary FORTUNA VALENTYN about the local politician Valentyn was completed shortly before the start of the large-scale war in 2022 - he believes in a democratic and corruption-free future for Ukraine and has therefore been involved in the city council of his Ukrainian hometown since the Maidan protests. When he needs a break, he tries to cross the Black Sea in a kayak he built himself. Today he is a soldier on the front line.

Eva thinks that there is far too little knowledge about Ukraine among the German public. Since the Russian invasion, most people associate the country exclusively with war. In the interview, she explains that Ukraine should not be simplified and talks about her collaboration with the strong Ukrainian civil society. While she has repeatedly taken a critical look at Eurocentrism in her career, feminism is also an important influence for her. This is one of the reasons why she is grateful for the INTO THE WILD mentoring program, in which she can grow together with other women from the industry and stand up for a fairer society. Her tool for this is film. You can now stream FORTUNA VALENTYN and Eva's recommendations as a SOONER curator on SOONER.

SEARCHING EVA - "I love the self-consciously fictional character of the documentary, which doesn't detract from the feeling of authenticity at all." (Eva Neidlinger)

Find out more about her favorite movies on SOONER

Tamara Denić, who had to flee to Germany from the war in former Yugoslavia as a young child, is an up-and-coming director whose work reaches far beyond national borders. With her film ISTINA, which won a Student Oscar in 2023, she brings individual stories with a universal character to the screen. The film, partly shot in Belgrade, tells the moving story of a photojournalist who has to escape right-wing violence.

tamara-denic

Feminism, refugee and film making: Interview with Into The Wild mentee Tamara Denić

"We are far from reaching the 50 per cent."

In the latest episode of the SOONER podcast, we talk to Tamara Denić about her experiences in Into The Wild mentoring, a mentoring programme for young women in the film industry. Her conviction that feminism continues to be of great importance and must be intersectional reflects not only in her perspective on the film industry, but also in her films. These deal sensitively with the female experience of danger and threat and are now available on SOONER together with Tamara's curated film recommendations.

YUGODIVAS: "I was very moved by the movie because I also fled the war with my parents in 1992 and understand very well how healing the creative process can be." (Tamara Denić)

Toni Karat, non-binary artist and filmmaker from Berlin, talks about her path into the film industry, inspired by the feminist Pornfilmfestival Berlin

toni karat - meltingpoint images

Fag Dyke/non-binary filmmaker, photographer in Berlin

Toni Karat, non-binary artist and filmmaker from Berlin.

Toni talks about their path into the film industry, inspired by the feminist porn film festival.

Toni Karat, artist and filmmaker, talks about her path into the film industry, inspired by the feminist Pornfilmfestival Berlin. After attending, Toni made her first short film on her own and taught herself film techniques, successively acquiring all the skills required for a feature-length film. In her own works, she deals with queer realities of life, self-love and criticism of patriarchy, focussing on the greatest possible authenticity and an unbiased view.

Toni's latest film, NARCISSISM - The Auto-Erotic Images, explores the intimate look in the mirror, accompanied by interviews about gender, narcissism and self-love. In 2022, the film won the Best Documentary Award at the Pornfilmfestival Berlin and 5 other documentary film awards. In the exclusive SOONER interview, Toni also discusses the challenges of filmmaking in Germany, such as current complex funding structures and bureaucratic hurdles in the production of the new documentary film, and would generally like to see more support for bolder, more experimental projects, as well as from marginalised communities, in order to promote diversity and justice in the film industry. Toni's film work reflects a commitment to self-expression and overcoming creative barriers. More info: https://meltingpointimages.wordpress.com/

OUT IN OST-BERLIN: "important cinematic gay and lesbian historiography in East Berlin - in the field of tension between everyday life, political activism and Stasi observation. (Toni Karat)

Find out more about their favorite movies on SOONER

From the soccer club, to the stage in the theater, to behind the camera. In a SOONER interview, Hamburg director Justina Jürgensen talks about her impressive career as a director and about sexism and heteronormativity - and not just in soccer.

Justina Jürgensen - Into the Wild Mentoring

Hamburg director Justina Jürgensen talks about her impressive career as a director in a SOONER interview.

From the soccer club, to the stage in the theater, to behind the camera.

From the soccer club, to the stage in the theater, to behind the camera. In a SOONER interview, Hamburg director Justina Jürgensen talks about her impressive career as a director and about sexism and heteronormativity - and not just in soccer. 

In 2006, during the World Cup, the young Justina was gripped by soccer fever. There was no girls' team, so she played with the boys at the club. As a young adult, she admitted to herself that things weren't looking particularly rosy for women in professional soccer - and so she focused on her other great passion: acting and theater. As an assistant director in the theater, she was gripped by the desire to tell the stories herself one day.

The dream became reality: in 2017, she began her studies at the University of Television and Film Munich and is working on her own films as a director and writer. Her film WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON BETWEEN US, FUCK?, which is also available on SOONER, is set in the world of women's soccer and is about a lesbian love affair in the team. Again, it was the World Cup that inspired her, so she is currently developing a series about the world of women's football. This time, however, she takes a harder line with the sport: she believes that sexist structures should be burned at the stake. 

Unfortunately, these exist not only in sport, but also in the film industry. The Into The Wild mentoring program is working to combat this. By providing targeted support for young female talent in the industry, like Justina, the aim is to ensure greater diversity and fairness in the industry. Justina is grateful for the mentoring program, as it encourages people to support each other and form bonds instead of elbowing their way through. Because like soccer, film is a team sport!

Justina is a political person. One of her favorite films is the DEFA film DIE MÖRDER SIND UNTER UNS - a post-war film in which the filmmakers understood and reflected on the atrocities that took place shortly after the end of the Second World War and dealt with the question of German war guilt in shattered Berlin. She is concerned about the shift to the right and sees a responsibility among artists to take a stand against it.

The entire interview is now available for you, as well as Justina's curated film recommendations. Listen in now!

I KILLED MY MOTHER (Xavier Dolan): "What a furious debut! Delicate and powerful at the same time." (Justina Jürgensen)

The camera and directing duo Sarina Laudam & Jacqueline May live and work in Cologne. Sarina completed her Bachelor's degree in Director of Photography at the International Film School Cologne and Jacqueline studied communication design with a focus on directing at the University of Applied Sciences Aachen.

Sarina Laudam & Jacqueline May - Into the Wild Mentoring

Founders of the FLINTA* Network Female Filmmakers Cologne

And how does the INTO THE WILD mentoring program work?

What is it like to found a filmmaker network?

Together they realized their first joint film project in 2021 and founded the FLINTA* network Female Filmmakers Cologne the following year. They are currently working on their debut film as an author duo in the INTO THE WILD mentoring program.  They talked to us about filmmaking, their film NUR EIN FREITAG and their favorite films on SOONER.

FREDA: "A vibrant film about a young generation in a country marked by colonialism that gives hope" (Jacqueline May)

Discover Sarina`s and Jacqueline's curated Channel

Isis Rampf's journey into the world of film began with film screenings for children, which she organised during her year of voluntary service. Her studies in media studies and directing at the international film school cologne, as well as her work as an assistant director, laid the foundation for her career as a director.

Isis Rampf - Into the Wild Mentoring

During a voluntary social year Isis discovered her love of film. In her roll as a director she enjoys create space and visibility for art and culture

Which she experienced both during the INTO THE WILD mentoring program and while working on her documentary ALLESANDERSPLATZ.

Isis Rampf talks about the positive power of community in this episode of the Sooner Cast.

Isis Rampf's journey into the world of film began with film screenings for children, which she organised during her year of voluntary service. Her studies in media studies and directing at the international film school cologne, as well as her work as an assistant director, laid the foundation for her career as a director. The passion she saw in the children's eyes still drives her today and motivates her to make films herself.

In our SOONERCAST, Isis Rampf talks about her experiences with the Into The Wild mentoring programme, in which she is working on her new project GEFÄHRTINNEN. The programme gives her the chance to write material while being supported by a dramaturge and a mentor from the industry. The positive atmosphere, which is characterised by mutual support rather than competition, and the prospect of forming a strong network for the future with the other mentees are factors that the up-and-coming director particularly appreciates.

In her film ALLESANDERSPLATZ, Rampf delves into the topics of community, collective work and urban society. The documentary, which deals with the long-empty Haus der Statistik on Berlin's Alexanderplatz, focuses on social housing, open spaces for art and culture and poses the question of how the city can be designed in a sustainable and community-oriented way. It thus addresses issues that have great social relevance far beyond the city of Berlin. In the new podcast episode, the Into-The-Wild mentee talks about the genesis of the project, the conceptual basis of the film and Isis' path to the House of Statistics. Listen in now!

DREISSIG - "A story that captivates me without a hero's journey and tells of not getting anywhere." (Isis Rampf)

Philippe Grégoire is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from the small village of Napierville, Quebec, whose debut feature film The Noise of Engines (Le Bruit des moteurs) was released in 2021 and is shown on Sooner.

Philippe Grégoire - Noise of Engines

A Canadian film director and screenwriter from the vastness of Quebec

We spoke to him about these questions and his connection to his home village of Napierville.

Why did Philippe Gregoire want to become a filmmaker and why does he love car racing?

Philippe Grégoire is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from the small village of Napierville, Quebec, whose debut feature film The Noise of Engines (Le Bruit des moteurs) was released in 2021 and is shown on Sooner. Philippe shares some insides how Noise Of Engines was created - a quite personal and nostalgic movie that was shot in his hometown with its inabitants that love car race. The film received three Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, including a Best Director nod for Grégoire and the John Dunning Best First Feature Award.

We talked with him about his motivation to become a filmmaker and what inspires him. Growing up with very open minded parents he had the chance to study film and started his first projects together with his friends influenced by Cinéma québécois which is part of the québeque culture. Of course we were very curious about his favorite films on sooner - listen in and find out which films he picked and why :)

THE TRIBE - The Ukrainian youth drama dispenses with words and uses sign language only

Find out more about Philippes favorite movies on sooner

Discover also Philippe Grégoires curated Channel!

Sophie Linnenbaums interest in social issues was awakened early on by the strong regional patriotism of her home region - keyword: annual bratwurst summit. She studied psychology and worked as a playwright before beginning her film studies at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.

Sophie Linnenbaum | Sooner Cast

Award winning Interfilm-Veteran with an inquisitive look at the human species and the social system

We discussed these questions and others with the filmmaker Sophie Linnenbaum.

Why do people make films? Why do we need festivals and why do fathers always sneeze so loudly?

Sophie Linnenbaums interest in social issues was awakened early on by the strong regional patriotism of her home region - keyword: annual bratwurst summit. She studied psychology and worked as a playwright before beginning her film studies at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. Her cinematic works combine her greatest interests - an inquisitive look at the human species and the social system and the possibility of creating narrative mirror worlds; with a penchant for humor and playfulness, her films illuminate the trials and tribulations of the human cosmos without losing sight of the characters. 

Her touching (short) films such as PIX (German Short Film Award 2017), DAS MENSCH (2019) and VÄTER UNSER (2021) have won several awards and screened at numerous national and international festivals, like the Interfilm Festival in Berlin. Her first feature film THE ORDINARIES had its international premiere in the main competition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and was awarded the Förderpreis Regie at the Munich Film Festival and won the First Steps Award for best feature-length film. Sophie's list with her own films and her film recommendations can be found at Sooner

The Moviewaffler: "BLOODY MILK is as tense as any neon lit urban thriller."

Find out more about Sophies favorite Movies on Sooner

Discover Sophie Linnenbaums curated Channel!

ALINA YKLYMOVA was born in 1990 in Meiningen in what was then the USSR, grew up in Turkmenistan and grew up in Hesse. Since then, she has felt at home everywhere and nowhere. These different cultural influences have shaped her unique perspective on storytelling.

Alina Yklymova - Into the Wild Mentoring

And what characterizes her artistic approach?

How did Alina Yklymova find her true calling in filmmaking?

ALINA YKLYMOVA was born in 1990 in Meiningen in what was then the USSR, grew up in Turkmenistan and grew up in Hesse. Since then, she has felt at home everywhere and nowhere. These different cultural influences have shaped her unique perspective on storytelling. With a passion for film and television production, her professional journey began, encompassing various fields and artistic projects. However, she found her true calling when she decided to study directing at the renowned Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. 

The two films "Störenfrieda" and "Kurschatten", which were made during her directing studies at the Film Academy, are co-productions with Arte and SWR. Both films premiered at the Max Ophüls Prize 2022 and were subsequently shown at various national and international film festivals. "Störenfrieda" became part of the AG Kurzfilm catalog and won various prizes. Among others, the prize for the best film at the "Bundesfestival Junger Film 2022" and the "Innovation Award" at the "Autorenfilmfest Filmzeit" in Kaufbeuren. Her artistic approach is characterized by her ability to approach abstract and theoretical questions from a sensual and visual perspective. In her films, she creates original worlds which, despite their uniqueness, have a connection to reality. She achieves this through thorough research and attention to detail. Furthermore, empathetic and profound characters are important to her in order to give her films a philanthropic character.

Mein Vietnam: "This film gives you the chance to look into the everyday life of a migrant family"

In 2016, Eline began work on her feature film debut NICO, which she wrote, directed and edited. NICO is screened at over 50 film festivals and nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2022 German Film Awards. NICO is later included in the German shortlist for the Oscars.

Eline Gehring - Into the Wild Mentoring

Viewing the world through the lens of a camera awakened in Eline a desire to make films that focus on women.

And about her path to film, which has taken her to St. Petersburg, Cairo and South Africa, among other places.

Eline Gehring talks to us about her favorite films.

ELINE GEHRING began her career in 2006 as a camerawoman and editor for German reporting in Paris, Prague, Kiev and Berlin. She shot a documentary for the German Bundestag in St Petersburg and worked for Deutsche Welle in Cairo in 2008. Her stations also took her to South Africa, where she spent a year in 2011 shooting short films, documentaries and social commercials for NGOs.

In 2022, Eline directs the season of a series on public television and has been developing her second feature film since 2023, with which she completes her directing studies at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). As a mentee of the INTO THE WILD programme funded by SOONER, she shows us some of her favourite films alongside NICO.

Ich Ich Ich (Second Thoughts) by Zora Rux 

Find out more about Elines favorite Movies on Sooner

Discover Eline Gehring's curated Channel!

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