The heroes of the youth drama "So Close to the Horizon" will meet each other at the dawn of their growing up, and everyone's world will never be the same. Can love at first sight last forever, and what can hinder happiness? Find out more about the filming of So Close to Horizon (2020), casting, and writing.
Release date in Russia - January 23, 2020.
All the secrets of the movie "So Close to the Horizon"
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The theme of Jessica's emotional maturity was extremely important to the director.
“Tim is different, he really feels the difference between emotionality and kitsch. In addition, he is well versed in music, at one time he even gathered a musical group. Therefore, he has a good musical instinct, which is very important for the sound of the film, - admires Loebbert. - He involuntarily evokes respect for himself. He is sociable and empathic, he has a great sense of humor. At the same time, he knows exactly what he wants, and can convincingly lead his colleagues to this! By giving the actors free rein, Tim guides them to keep in touch with the characters and the story. He closely follows the creative process and does not miss a single detail. "
For Tim Trachte, So Close to the Horizon was his second collaboration with Studiocanal (after BENJAMIN BLÜMCHEN) and his first collaboration with Pantaleon.
“You don't have to slap the audience in the face with the hard truth of life,” says Trachte. - For me, "So Close to the Horizon" is a melodrama with a very interesting line of the main character Jessica. I am convinced that all good melodramas must contain tragic elements. There must be dynamics. “So Close to the Horizon” is a film about the value of love as something enduring and understandable to everyone ”.
Trachte studied directing at the Higher School of Television and Cinematography in Munich. His first full-length projects were the films "Excursion to Prague" and "Vampire Family 3". “The first version of the script wasn't very cinematic,” the director recalls. “Fortunately, both the producers and Arian Schroeder immediately understood what the film was like for me, and they liked my interpretation.”
According to Trachte, Schroeder undertook to rewrite the script from start to finish, and the result was the heart of the novel: the story of a girl who finds great love and understands that not much time has been allowed for this feeling. The situation forces the main character to grow up, make responsible decisions and find inner strength.
“I remember the TV shows I watched as a child,” says the director. “They were well structured, but lacked depth and sincerity. They worked well with superficial emotions and even sometimes made me cry, but they didn't give me strong feelings. Then there were such wonderful films as "Man and Woman" by Claude Lelouch, which touched me to the core with their characters and their experiences. "
In the case of So Close to the Horizon, the director wanted to achieve something more. He carefully thought about what emotions he wants to evoke in the audience. “The peculiarity of our film is that it is, on the one hand, a fairy tale, and on the other, a real story,” says Trachte. "I wanted to show these problems to the audience very carefully and unobtrusively."
So Close to Horizon's plot is centered around Danny's independence and determination, shaped by unpleasant incidents in the past. The young man learned to cope with his pain by hiding it under a mask. This pain makes Danny seem more mature than Jessica. There are practically no vulnerabilities in his character. The only thing he lacks is the belief that life has left and something good for him.
Jessica has to decide if she can understand and accept this, ”says Trachte. It is Jessica who reveals to Danny who he really is. Danny, in turn, helps Jessica gain control of her life and set life priorities. She understands how strong she is, learns not to run away from problems and not give up.
Casting of actors
The hardest part was finding actors for the lead roles of Jessica and Danny. The goal was to find actors who would not only match their characters in age, but also understand each other well. According to Christine Loebbert and Tim Trachte, casting agent Daniela Tolkien was guided by this, from which she began a conversation with Luna Vedler, offering her the role of Jessica.
Finding Jess
The young actress showed herself well in the film "Blue Inside Me" (2017), and recently starred in the film "The Most Beautiful Girl on Earth."
“Luna Vedler is purity itself! - says Loebbert. - Emotions in her pour over the edge. She is so convincing in every shot that it's hard to take your eyes off her. Personally, I immediately saw our Jessica in her. "
The Swiss actress admits that she became interested in the role of Jessica as soon as she finished reading the script.
“I'm not the type to sit still,” says Vedler. “I had barely finished the script when I was eager to get to work.” The actress especially liked the fact that "So Close to the Horizon" tells a real love story. “She herself doesn't know how strong she really is,” Vedler continues. “Jessica, in my understanding, went through a lot, matured and finally got on her feet.”
It was not easy for the young actress to convincingly portray all the experiences of a girl in love. In general, the role required a lot of dedication.
“Jessica is overwhelmed with a passionate crush,” says Vedler. - It was very nice to feel how much this girl loves Danny. However, it was not easy to play. It's much easier to play, say, hatred or despair. It's incredibly difficult to portray love. "
Tim Trachte admires the actress: “Luna Vedler is very young, but she is no stranger to acting. She has several successful roles under her belt and experience to be envied. And yet she played surprisingly well. I'm very glad that we found her. "
Danny
According to Loebbert and Trachte, finding an actor to play Danny was much more difficult.
“We needed an actor who visually resembled both an international model and a professional kickboxer,” explains the producer. “In addition, the actor had to convey the deep feelings of his character, which is also not easy.” Tim Trachte adds: “Our Danny was going to be severely tested, starting with his appearance. There are many bright guys among the actors, but we needed a well-written handsome man so that the audience would believe in Jessica's love at first sight. "
Until now, filmmakers offered Yannick Schumann only the roles of bad guys, unpleasant and slippery handsome men, in a word, antagonists. “It is believed that a beautiful person, by definition, must be evil and have a terrible disposition,” explains Trachte. "The most amazing thing is that this stereotype does not apply to handsome American men."
It was casting agent Daniela Tolkien who constantly drew the attention of producers and director to Schumann's candidacy. The decision was made during the casting of Luna Vedler.
“The scene at the beginning of the film, when the characters meet their eyes at the fair, was chosen for the samples. The audience should immediately understand that at this moment they fall in love, - says Loebbert. - On the tests, everything turned out so naturally that goose bumps ran down our spines. From the very first meeting, the two formed the perfect duet. " Tim Trachte agrees with the producer: “Yannick's uniqueness is that he shows confidence without slipping into a macho image. In him we found everything that we would like to see in our character. "
Yannick Schumann recalls getting to know the script: “I was returning from Los Angeles to Germany and reading the script on the plane. I could not hold back the tears, it was very embarrassing, because it is not the case to show such emotions in public. According to the actor, the script “So Close to the Horizon” has everything that should be: “I am often offered the role of negative characters. So I was really happy to give the audience a chance to love my character. "
Schumann also admits that he will never forget how he prepared for the role:
“Danny is a kickboxer and a model, so I had to work in the gym. I did kickboxing twice a week and also worked with a personal trainer. It wasn't easy. " The shooting left the actor with only pleasant memories: “We all became friends, there was no hierarchy on the set. Tim has a very friendly manner of communication and leadership. Everyone came to the shooting with pleasure. It seemed that you were returning home from work, and not vice versa. What could be nicer than looking forward to a working day? Each of our days off dragged on indefinitely. "
The perfect prelude, which the actors demonstrated at the casting, was developed on the set. “It was a pleasure working with Yannick,” notes Luna Vedler. - Given the strangeness of the story, it was important to trust each other. But we had mutual trust from the very beginning. Yannick and I were incredibly comfortable. " The actress claims that it was Schumann who helped her to realistically play love and happiness: "I trusted him 100%, and we understood each other almost without words." Yannick Schumann also notes her talent: “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the Moon. You could always count on her, knowing that the result would be a wonderful scene. From time to time during the filming I caught myself thinking: “Lord! Where does she get all these ideas from? " Although she didn't particularly like romantic scenes, the result was always flawless! "
Jessica and Danny, played by Luna Wedler and Yannick Schumann, appear in almost every frame of the film together. The plot is based on them. They are followed in terms of screen time by Tina, Danny's best friend, who lives with him. This role was offered to play Louise Befort, known for her role in the successful TV series Red Bracelets. “She was our ideal Tina because there was a subtle melancholy in her,” says Loebbert. "Louise worked very carefully on the role of Tina, and you will certainly believe that her character has an ambiguous past."
From the point of view of Tim Trachta, Louise Befort managed to play Tina in such a way that the audience will sympathize with her, but somewhat differently than Jessica or Danny. “It was extremely important for us that Tina's character did not spoil the story, because her fate is extremely dramatic,” explains the director. "So we had to balance this heroine." It was just as important for Trachta to have a different person next to Danny and Jessica. Jessica, played by Luna Vedler, turned out to be a strong and cheerful beauty who seemed to glow from the inside, while Tina Louise Befort was cold. "
“Tina is a beautiful girl, but it’s immediately noticeable that she has a dark look at life,” says Trakhte. - Only by getting closer to Jessica, Tina opens up, and the audience begins to sympathize with her. Louise immediately understood the internal contradictions and emotional ambiguity in the relationship between Tina, Jessica and Danny and thought about how best to play it. "
Louise Befort says about her heroine: “Tina has experienced a lot of pain in her life, which the audience initially does not know about. At first it is difficult to grasp what is gnawing at her from the inside, but when her story begins to open up, there is a feeling that everything is not so simple. I am very grateful for the chance to play the role of Tina, because she has a difficult past. "
Yannick Schumann believes that it was thanks to Louise Befort that Tina came to life: “Louise took the ambiguity of her character seriously, it was interesting to watch how she gave herself up to the role.” “This picture is about friendship, how to protect each other and how to trust each other,” notes Befort. "But the most important thing is how important it is to look at a person and not judge people hastily."
Experienced theater and film actors Victoria Mayer and Stefan Kampwirth played the roles of Jessica's parents. By Tim Trachte's definition, “ideal parents”. Christina Loebbert agrees with the director:
“They worked well together and looked great on camera. Not to mention the fact that Victoria and Stefan are very funny and kind people! "
Tim Trachte adds that the characters of Meyer and Kampwirt show where Jessica's personality traits come from. The girl adopted her purity and spontaneity from her mother, and her warmth from her father. It was important for the director not to focus on the parents. They were only supposed to help viewers get to know Jessica, improving the emotional perception of the situation, and the actors did an excellent job with the task, which was important for the plot.
The same was true for the characters Jörg, Danny's surrogate father and trainer, played by Denis Moscitto, and Dogan, Danny's kickboxing instructor played by Frederick Lau.
“It was important that Jörg embodied warmth and protection. He looks more like the older brother of the protagonist, ”says Trachte. According to the director, Frederick Lau got a small but important role: “The scene in the hospital in which Frederic worked with Yannick is especially touching. This is one of those scenes in which it becomes clear that Danny is the main character of the film. "
Watch the trailer for So Close to the Horizon (2020), find out interesting facts and information about the casting of actors before the premiere, as well as the direct speech of the filmmakers.
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