A Magical Mystery in Germany’s rave clubs in the mid-1990s
- After the German box-office hit Berlin Blues, Sven Regener’s latest bestseller, Magical Mystery, is being brought to the big screen
In Hamburg, principal photography has started on the road movie Magical Mystery by German director Arne Feldhusen (Stromberg [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Der Tatortreiniger), which follows a group of techno musicians who are touring Germany in the mid-1990s. The story is based on the novel of the same name by German writer Sven Regener, whose best-selling novels Herr Lehmann and Der kleine Bruder were already successfully adapted for the screen (the former as Berlin Blues). His latest book, Magical Mystery, takes readers on a trip into the rave clubs of that decade. Regener, a musician and co-founder of the German band Element of Crime, also penned the script.
In the mid-1990s, a mentally fragile artist accidentally runs into his old buddies, whom he hasn’t seen for many years. The day the Berlin Wall came down, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was taken to a psychiatric clinic while his friends became stars on the techno scene. Meanwhile, they are planning a "Magical Mystery" tour across Germany, for which they need a driver who doesn’t drink. Tired of his therapy, he joins the techno band and embarks upon an adventure. The cast includes well-known German actors such as Charly Hübner (The Lives of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florian Henckel von Donners…
interview: Ulrich Muehe
film profile]), actor-director Detlev Buck (Berlin Blues), Marc Hosemann (Oh Boy [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jan Ole Gerster
film profile], Tschick), Annika Meier (Tatortreiniger) and Bjarne Mädel (24 Weeks [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Anne Zohra Berrached
film profile]).
Produced by Berlin-based Razor Film in co-production with the Brainpool brand MySpass, WDR, Degeto and Arte, the shoot is taking place on location in Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Bavaria. Magical Mystery has received support from the German Federal Film Fund, the FFA, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the Filmförderung Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein as well as the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung. In Germany, the theatrical release is being planned by DCM for the first quarter of 2017.
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