Interview with Jannis Alexander Kiefer, director of Kollegen [Good German Work]

What did you want to explore in the relationship between the woodworkers and the film crew?
The woodworkers are representative of the locals living in the village where our film takes place. A young woman and an older man who have lived in their region since they were born and who are trying to make a living of their craft. They have a different approach to film and art from me as a filmmaker. They don’t talk about the making of a film in an intellectual sense and are more pragmatic. This contrast fascinates me and helps me to have a different perspective on filmmaking. Too often filmmakers stay in their “arty bubble”. On the other hand, the woodworkers are the audience who will watch the finished film on TV at the end, and in my opinion it was time to let the two groups meet.

Why did you decide to set the fiction in what I presume is a concentration camp?
The story takes place on the outskirts of a village where a historical film is being shot for a longer period of time. The starting point was the question of what happens to the local people when (again) a film production of one of the countless Nazi films is made. There is a lot of filming in the rural region around Berlin, and also many international productions through the famous Babelsberg studio. I asked myself: does the handling of the German history play a role or is it just about the “film as a product”, a commercial project that leaves no room for discourse.

It’s a funny film, with deadpan, understated humour. Is this a tone you like to work with?
Yes absolutely. Although I have just made a film about online meetings in Corona times that clearly wants to be a comedy. In the case of Kollegen, it was important to me that we primarily tell a moment about our two main characters and that the humour does not arise for our characters but only for the viewers of the short film. When it comes to dealing with German history around the Holocaust today, I have no right to make fun of it. There are currently many cases of Jewish institutions being damaged in Germany. With our short film we would like to point out that it is important not to forget the story and to deal with it personally.

Could you tell us more about the choice of title?
The English title Good German Work is a quote of the film. I actually don’t like it when films quote themselves. In this case, it describes quite well what our main characters want to achieve in front of the international guests: do a good job and be proud of it. It is a saying in Germany to deliver “good German craftsmanship”. In the historical context, however, this announcement appears in a different, terrible light.

What do you think the future holds for short films?
I ask myself that very often. I love short films and my last short was once again proof of why: within a short time, we made a lockdown film that is currently screened and distributed very successfully. Dealing with current affairs usually works much better in a short format than in a long one and the creative freedom is enormous. I very much hope that short films will increasingly return to the cinema, also as a “supporting film“. Because if there is no visibility, it unfortunately remains a niche product and does not do the short film justice in my opinion.

If we were to go back into lockdown, what cultural or delights would you recommend to alleviate our boredom?
Except short films? To go for a walk! Alone and without a smartphone. This is the perfect starting point to be creative and to deal with yourself. Without distraction, without input.

Kollegen [Good German Work] is part of International Competition I1.