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presents

Director 

Hans Steinbichler 

Screenplay 

Josephin Thayenthal and Robert Thayenthal 

Starring 

Juliane Köhler, Hannelore Elsner, 

Karoline Herfurth, Niklas Kohrt, David Kross, 

Rüdiger Vogler, Matthias Brandt, Fritzi Haberlandt a.o. 

Production 

die film gmbh in coproduction with Sam Film 

Producer 

Uli Aselmann 

Supported by 

Deutscher Filmförderfonds (DFFF), Filmstiftung NRW, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (FFF), Medienboard 

Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA), Wirtschaftliche Filmförderung Mecklenburg- 

Vorpommern, Beauftragter für Kultur und Medien (BKM) 

with the participation of WDR, ARD Degeto, BR and Arte 

CAST 

Sofia Schleier 

Marga Baumanis 

Marga Baumanis (young) 

Juris Baumanis 

Osvalds Kalnins (young) 

Osvald Kalnins 

Lorenz Schleier 

Juliane Köhler 

Hannelore Elsner 

Karoline Herfurth 

Niklas Kohrt 

David Kross 

Rüdiger Vogler 

Matthias Brandt 

For further information: 

Beta Cinema Press, Dorothee Stoewahse, Tel: + 49 89 67 34 69 15, Mobile: + 49 170 63 84 627 

press@betafilm.com, www.betacinema.com. 

Pictures and filmclips available on ftp.betafilm.com, username: ftppress01, password: 8uV7xG3tB 

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CREW 

Director 

Screenplay 

Producer 

Co-Producer 

with the participation of 

Cinematography 

Stage Design 

Costumes 

Make-Up 

Music 


Josephin Thayenthal, Robert Thayenthal 

Uli Aselmann, die film gmbh 

Ewa Karlström, Andreas Ulmke-Smeaton, 

Sam Film 

WDR - Anke Krause, Gebhard Henke 

ARD Degeto - Jörn Klamroth 

BR - Bettina Reitz, Cornelia Ackers 

Arte - Barbara Häbe, Andreas Schreitmüller 

Bella Halben 

Evi Stiebler 

Katharina Ost 

Waldemar Pokromski, Anette Keiser 

Niki Reiser 

TECHNICAL DATA 

Format: 35mm, color 

Sound: Dolby Digital 

Length (in meters): 2836 

Running time: 99 Min. 

Language: German 

CONTACT INTERNATIONAL PRESS: 

Beta Cinema, Dorothee Stoewahse 

Tel: + 49 89 67 34 69 15 

Mobile: + 49 170 63 84 627 

press@betafilm.com 

CONTACT WORLD SALES: 

Beta Cinema, Dirk Schuerhoff/Andreas Rothbauer 

Tel: + 49 89 67 34 69 80 

Fax: + 49 89 67 34 69 888 

beta@betacinema.com 

www.betacinema.com 





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BAVARIAN FILM AWARD - Jury’s Statement of 14 January 2011 

“Producer Uli Aselmann has realized a most extraordinary film with his production 'Promising the 

Moon,' which was stunningly shot in Munich, Wuppertal, Heiligendamm, Berlin and Riga. The 

sensitive direction of Hans Steinbichler and his outstanding cast have given rise to an intricate filmic 

narrative. It takes the protagonists and, with them, the viewers deep into the past and unfolds in 

impressive images a family drama that has been secretly slumbering for decades and that affects and 

weighs upon the lives of all concerned. Uli Aselmann has produced a film that is as fascinating as it is 

compelling in each and every detail. It not only meets with the highest artistic demands, but also casts 

its spell upon the public." 

PRESS NOTE 

After such successful productions as “Hierankl” and “Winter Journey”, director Hans Steinbichler 

takes a journey back into the 1930s and 1990s in his new film. In various historical time frames, he 

weaves the family history of Marga – played by Hannelore Elsner and with Karoline Herfurth as the 

"young Marga" – and her daughter Sofia, played by Juliane Köhler. One woman, Marga, is losing her 

memory and, thus, herself. Only recollections of past times keep flaring up bright and clear and reveal 

a Marga who is completely different than the person she seemed to be throughout her life. The 

other woman, Sofia, seizes upon Marga's memories in order to find out the truth about her own past 

and thus about herself. 

Against the background of the life stories of these two women, PROMISING THE MOON movingly 

treats the power of love, the impossibility of forgetting, and the power of forgiving. Alongside Juliane 

Köhler, Hannelore Elsner and Karoline Herfurth, Hans Steinbichler's top-notch cast also includes 

David Kross, Niklas Kohrt, Rüdiger Vogler, Matthias Brandt and Fritzi Haberlandt. 

SHORT SYNOPSIS 

PROMISING THE MOON is a story about the power of love and forgiveness. Marga (Hannelore 

Elsner) has never shown many feelings towards her daughter Sofia (Juliane Köhler). Now, however, 

she reveals fears, wounds and a deep longing for her long-dead husband Juris. She loses herself more 

and more in her forgetfulness and suddenly craves tenderness like a child. An unaccustomed situation 

for Sofia, who, after years of almost no contact with her mother, unexpectedly finds herself having to 

take care of her. A difficult situation, too: Marga can sometimes be brusque and sometimes funny; 

she lives now in the moment, now far away. As though yearning to be free of her memories, Marga 

begins relating stories of things that happened many years ago. Things that Sofia has never heard of. 

Prompted by a faint suspicion that the secrets of Marga’s past are important to understanding her 

own past, Sofia sets off for Riga with her mother at the spur of the moment. This is where Marga 

grew up and where she married Juris. But the more Sofia learns about her mother, the less certain 

she becomes about her own identity. As the past becomes clearer, it also emerges that what Marga 

had told her about their past together was nothing more than a story carved out of thin air… 





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SYNOPSIS 

“Nothing is where it should be” – and that includes Marga Baumanis (Hannelore Elsner). One day, 

during a meeting, her daughter Sofia (Juliane Köhler) is called to the phone: her mother has left her 

nursing home without permission and is now in a psychiatric day clinic in Wuppertal, where she must 

be picked up. Sofia's relationship with her mother being somewhat tense, her first reaction is denial. 

But there's no way around it. Sofia must act, and her husband Lorenz (Matthias Brandt) also makes 

this clear. So she sets out from Berlin to Wuppertal… 

Sofia is horrified when she sees her mother: how she lies there, how she looks at her… In her 

confused state, Marga reveals a yearning for love and closeness that Sofia had never before seen in 

her mother. And while Marga speaks of things that Sofia doesn't understand, Sofia suspects that there 

is something in her mother's life that weighs so heavily upon her that she wants to break free of it. 

But what secret has Marga been hiding all these years 

On their way back from the clinic, Marga keeps losing herself in her recollections, reacts 

unpredictably, aggressively, or like a small child. Again and again, events from her youth keep 

appearing before her mind's eye: her wedding with Juris (Niklas Kohrt), whom she loved above all 

else and married against her father's will; how happy she was, how carefree her life was. But the 

joyous memories are followed by darker ones that inspire fear and which Marga vehemently tries to 

repress. But to no avail… 

Sofia, who has always suffered from her mother's lack of warmth and affection, has no time to adjust 

to the new situation. But she wants to understand, and does everything in her power to help Marga. 

In Berlin, Sofia discovers in Marga's luggage old photos which she had never seen before. They are 

pictures of her parents in their youth, from their former home in Latvia – pictures from happier 

times. And there is also a photo that shows her father Juris next to a man that Sofia cannot identify. 

Marga reacts violently when Sofia asks her about this, but at least Sofia learns that this man was a 

friend of the family whose name is Osvalds Kalnins (David Kross / Rüdiger Vogler). 

Almost as a foreboding, Sofia senses that she must go to Latvia with her mother. Perhaps she can 

help Marga regain control of her memories. And, she secretly hopes, perhaps the journey will help 

her, Sofia, to better understand her mother and learn more about her family. 

Upon arriving in Riga, they find themselves in the midst of the turmoil of the "Singing Revolution." 

But as they pass the street blockades in Riga, other images surface before Marga's eyes, from the 

time of the Russian occupation of Latvia in the 1940s. She is beside herself and wants to flee. 

Sofia's only hope is Osvalds Kalnins, her father’s friend, who lives in Jūrmala, an idyllic town directly 

on the Baltic Sea. This is where Marga grew up and met her husband Juris, and where she spent the 

first years of the war. All that Sofia knows from this time is that her parents fled Jūrmala to Germany 

during the war. 

They find Osvalds in the villa in which Marga spent her childhood. He is overwhelmed to learn who 

Sofia is: after all, Marga had written him after the war to inform him that Juris and Sofia had died in an 

air-raid bombing. Sofia is upset over this denial of her existence, but suspects there are reasons for 

this which Marga has always kept silent about. It is clear to her that Jürmala is the key to Marga's past 

and that Osvalds is part of the mystery surrounding Marga. 





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Sofia plunges deeper and deeper into Marga's past in order to uncover this secret. It will take her far 

back into the 1930s, to a young and exuberant Marga, her husband Juris, his friend Osvalds and to a 

woman named Iewa (Juta Vanaga / Dace Eversa) whom Sofia had never heard about. It will take her 

back to wonderful times, to dramatic events, to a great love and to an even greater suffering. 

The more Sofia learns about her mother, the clearer her own identity becomes. And so it emerges 

that what Marga had told her about her life and about their past together was carved out of thin 

air… 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 

The "Hitler-Stalin Pact" was signed on 23 August 1939. On the basis of this secret agreement, Latvia 

fell to the Soviet Union. On 17 June 1940 the Red Army occupied the Latvian territory, which was 

then incorporated into the Soviet Union against the will of the Latvian people. 

In June 1941 the German Wehrmacht marched into Latvia. Three years later there were major 

battles between the German and Soviet armies on Latvian territory, from which the USSR emerged 

victorious. During this war, Latvians were called up for military service by both occupation forces, 

and even forced to fight against one another. 

The following post-war years were marked by particularly cruel reprisals against the Latvian 

population. Nearly 120,000 Latvians were arrested and sent to Soviet concentration camps 

(GULAGs). 130,000 fled to the West from the Soviet occupation forces. On 25 March 1949, in a 

large-scale operation, nearly 43,000 people – mostly from rural areas – were transported from Latvia 

to Siberia. 

In the second half of the 1980s, the Latvians used the nascent liberalization of the Soviet Union to 

establish various political organizations such as, for example, the People's Front, the National 

Independent Movement and the Citizen's Congress. These organizations supported the restoration 

of Latvia's independence. 

On 23 August 1989 the three people's fronts built a live human chain of over several hundred 

kilometers from Tallinn via Riga to Vilnius (the Baltic Path) in order to draw attention to the crime of 

the Hitler-Stalin Pact that had been in effect for 50 years already. During the protest marches and 

demonstrations, the people sang forbidden songs, defiant rock versions of popular Latvian songs that 

became summer hits. The concept of the "Singing Revolution" was coined. 

A major step in the restoration of Latvia's independence was taken on 4 May 1990. On that day, the 

Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR passed a declaration in which the will to restore independence 

was expressed, and a period of transition to complete freedom laid down officially. 

Moscow was opposed to the Balts' strivings for independence, since they could bring down the 

entire Soviet Union. The revolution took its course in the night of 13 January 1991 with the bloody 

events in Vilnius, where the Soviet military occupied the Lithuanian Television. Thirteen peaceful 

demonstrators were killed. The population of Riga then erected barricades around its radio building 

and the Parliament in the old town of Riga to protect them from Soviet attacks. For entire days and 

nights, the people kept up their opposition and sang their freedom songs around bonfires in the icy 

cold. When the "old guard" revolted against Gorbatchev in Moscow in August 1991, barricades were 





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again set up in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, and songs of solidarity sung. The peaceful revolution in the 

Baltics was threatened. But a few days later, the Moscow putsch collapsed. 

On 21 August 1991 the Latvian Parliament passed a resolution about the complete restoration of the 

Latvian state. The Soviet Union recognized the independence of Latvia in September 1991 along with 

the Western democracies. 

PRODUCTION NOTES 

"I always feel that a film is successful 

when it elicits emotions in the viewer – 

his can be hearty laughter or commiserating tears." 

Uli Aselmann - Producer 

When producer Uli Aselmann was offered the first version of the script, sponsored by the FFA, he 

was immediately fascinated. Together with director Hans Steinbichler, he proceeded to conceptually 

transpose the story penned by Robert and Josephin Thayenthal, and to search for financing. After 

nearly a year, he had all the commitments of the sponsoring authorities that he had applied to: the 

Deutscher Filmförderfonds (DFFF), the Filmstiftung NRW, the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (FFF), the 

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), the Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA), the Wirtschaftliche 

Filmförderung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the support of the German Ministry of Culture as well 

as the participation of WDR, ARD Degeto, BR and Arte. Together with the producer’s own 

resources, the film has a production budget of around five million euros. 

The shooting of the historic scenes surrounding the Baltic "Singing Revolution" took place in Riga. 

The Latvians who had lived through the blockade in Riga in August 1991 brought original props onto 

the set with them. During the six days of shooting, they showed the German team just how 

important it was for them to create a realistic feeling for this important phase of their country. A 

liberating recollection of this period and a feeling of triumph spread among the Latvians during the 

shoot. Their history is truly special and is almost forgotten today amidst the more spectacular world 

events. The film tries to do justice to this period, even if the political background of Latvia from 1933 

to 1991 can only be briefly sketched, since it is a family secret that is at the center of the story. "It 

was not our intent to make a political film about the history of Latvia. We wouldn't have dared to do 

so, and certainly not from our basis in Germany. Latvia's historical background offered us the context 

in which we could make a film about humanity, one that concerns human fates," says Uli Aselmann. 





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DIRECTOR HANS STEINBICHLER about the film 

“PROMISING THE MOON is a story about the obstacles 

and possibilities of forgiving.” 

Hans Steinbichler - Director 

Why did you decide to direct PROMISING THE MOON 

I am of a generation that has a very concrete relationship to the years of political change in the 

1990s. When I look back upon those years, which have remain engraved in my mind, then the most 

important were no doubt those between 1986 and 1996. These are the years in which I was growing 

up. I felt immediately familiar with the time level of the story of Marga and Sofia. 

The script "found" me in June 2008. I think I hadn't read such an exciting and suggestive book about 

this time until then. I didn't have to consider for a minute. I immediately sent the two writers Robert 

and Josephin Thayenthal a text message: "I'll do it! Absolutely!" 

You shot the film in Bavaria, Wuppertal, Heiligendamm and Berlin, as well as at original 

locations in Riga. How did the Latvians react to the shooting of a film about their 

history 

The city of Riga and its population were extremely open and helpful. There were very moving 

moments. The revolution of 1991 was recreated on the original locations with the almost identical 

number of people who had been on the square at that time. We had nearly 400 Latvian extras. The 

people came to the set with tears in their eyes because we brought to life once again, and for a brief 

moment, that which they had experienced themselves twenty years earlier: the barricades, the songs, 

the posters. Many Latvians feel that their liberation story was eclipsed by the Gulf War which began 

only three days later. The film is something like a small contribution to keeping alive the memory of 

this period in Latvian history. 

Nevertheless, it is not Latvian history that is at the center of the film. Did you 

deliberately reduce the historical events to the family tragedy 

We continued to develop the script over a period of one and a half years. Not least because the 

Latvian history in the original version was described so extensively that we would not have been able 

to shoot this for under a two-digit million sum. For me, the historical aspect wasn't so much the 

decisive element. In this film, history functions rather like a blueprint. War and clashes of social 

systems are the framework that gives rise to stories of relations such as those between Marga and 

Sofia. History becomes personal this way. 

That sounds like one of your great idols Pedro Almodóvar, for whom both history and 

homeland function like strong projection surfaces for the filmic narrative. 

That’s true. I am a great admirer of Pedro Almodóvar and consider him as a consummate homeland 

filmmaker. To me, "homeland film" doesn't mean wandering around meadows in front of mountains. 

Just like Almodóvar who, for example, depicts the situation of gays in Spain in his film 'La mala 

educación,' homeland film means understanding one's own surroundings not by aiming to fill a niche, 

but by relating stories for many people. This is what I really admire in Almodóvar. With this kind of 





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closeness to reality, he has been able to tell incredibly radical stories such as 'Todo sobre mi madre.' 

I see Pedro Almodóvar above all as a model of narrative style. 

It is also the visual idiom which makes the film so remarkable – the weightiness of 

personal destinies is placed against the lightness and poetic beauty of the images. A 

deliberately chosen contrast 

Beauty is extremely important to me - not in the sense of hyping the aesthetic. It's a type of beauty 

in which you completely forget that you're moved in places where you really don't want to be moved 

that much. That's precisely what I love about movies: that the beauty of images can lead you into 

reflecting on terrible things. 

And what are you offering viewers with this film 

How far do relations go How far can love or friendship go The film asks these questions and 

provides the possibility of forgiving as an answer. That is a rather big theme. If we were all able to 

forgive, then the world would be a bit further than it is at the moment. 

FILMOGRAPHY (selection) 

CAST 

Juliane Köhler – Sofia Schleier 

Title 

Director 

2011 Promising the Moon Hans Steinbichler 

2009 Eden à l’ouest Constantin Costa-Gavras 

2008 November Child Christian Schwochow 

Adam Resurrected 

Paul Schrader 

Effi 

Hermine Huntgeburth 

Anonyma 

Max Färberböck 

2007 Mondkalb Sylke Enders 

2006 Life Actually Alain Gsponer 

Auf ewig und einen Tag (TV) 

Markus Imboden 

2004 Downfall Oliver Hirschbiegel 

2002 My First Miracle Anne Wild 

2001 Nowhere in Africa Caroline Link 

1998 Aimée & Jaguar Max Färberböck 

Annaluise and Anton 

Caroline Link 

Hannelore Elsner – Marga Baumanis 

Title 

Director 


2010 Electric Ghetto Uli Edel 

The Last Patriarch 

Michael Steinke 

Hanni and Nanni 

Christine Hartmann 

2009 Jakobs Bruder Daniel Walta 

My Heart in Chile 

Jörg Grünler 





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2007 Cherry Blossoms - Hanami Doris Dörrie 

Vivere 

Angeline Maccarone 

War and Peace (TV) 

Robert Dornhelm 

2006 Not All Were Murderers Jo Baier 

2005 Die Spielerin Erhard Riedlsperger 

Rauchzeichen 

Rudolf Thome 

2004 Go For Zucker! Dani Levy 

2003 Frau fährt, Mann schläft Rudolf Thome 

Poem 

Ralf Schmerberg 

2002 Mein letzter Film Oliver Hirschbiegel 

Red and Blue 

Rudolf Thome 

2000 No Place to Go Oskar Roehler 

1994 Die Kommissarin (TV) Diverse 

- 2005 

Karoline Herfurth – Marga Baumanis (young) 

Title 

Director 


2010 Vincent Wants to Sea Ralf Huettner 

2009 Berlin ’36 Kaspar Heidelbach 

2008 A Year Ago in Winter Caroline Link 

Das Wunder von Berlin (TV) 

Roland Suso Richter 

The Reader 

Stephen Daldry 

2006 Parfume – Story of a Murderer Tom Tykwer 

Peer Gynt 

Uwe Janson 

2004 In Another League Buket Alakus 

Girls on Top! 2 

Peter Gersina 

2003 Mein Name ist Bach Dominique de Rivaz 

2002 Big Girls Don’t Cry Maria von Heland 

2001 Girls on Top! Dennis Gansel 

2000 Crazy Hans-Christian Schmid 

David Kross – Osvalds Kalnins (young) 

Title 

Director 

2011 DAS BLAUE VOM HIMMEL Hans Steinbichler 

2009 Same But Different Detlev Buck 

2008 The Reader Stephen Daldry 

Krabat 

Marco Kreuzpaintner 

2006 Tough Enough Detlev Buck 





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Matthias Brandt – Lorenz Schleier 

Title 

Director 


2010 Das Medium (TV) Jan Bonny, Oliver Schwabe 

2009 Livestream Jens Wischnewski 

Freche Mädchen 

Ute Wieland 

Die Tochter des Mörders 

Johannes Fabrick 

Der Test (TV) 

Marc Schlichter 

2008 My Mother, My Bride and I Hans Steinbichler 

Todsünde (TV) 

Matti Geschonneck 

Die Frau, die im Wald verschwand (TV) Oliver Storz 

2007 Side Effects (TV) Adolf Winkelmann 

Counterparts 

Jan Bonny 

2006 Hannah Erika von Möller 

Vineta 

Franziska Stünkel 

2005 The Kaminski Case Stephan Wagner 

Leo (TV) 

Vivian Naefe 

2003 In the Shadow of Power (TV) Oliver Storz 

2002 Big Girls Don’t Cry Maria von Heland 

CREW 

Hans Steinbichler – Director 

Hans Steinbichler was born in Solothurn, Switzerland, in 1969 and grew up in the Chiemgau in 

Bavaria. During his studies, he worked as a photographer and journalist. He began to study law after 

secondary school, but broke this off to take up a course of study at the Munich Hochschule für 

Fernsehen und Film instead. After shooting short films and biographical documentaries there, he 

presented his film “Hierankl” (2003) – for which he was able to enlist the participation of such great 

film personalities as Josef Bierbichler, Barbara Sukowa and Johanna Wokalek – as his graduation 

project, which won plaudits from the press and the public. For his first work he obtained the 

Advancement Prize of the Munich Filmfest for best direction as well as the Bavarian Film Award and 

the Adolf Grimme Award. His acting ensemble was also honored with the latter. In 2006 Hans 

Steinbichler directed “Winter Journey”, which again starred Josef Bierbichler, this time next to 

Hanna Schygulla and Sibel Kekilli. Bierbichler obtained the Lola for his achievement in this film; 

moreover, “Winter Journey” was also nominated for the best film. In 2007 he realized the film 

experiment “Autistic Disco” – a drama about social outcasts that Steinbichler developed jointly with 

acting students of an art academy. One year later he shot the drama “My Mother, My Bride and I” 

with Monica Bleibtreu, Matthias Brandt and Maria Popistasu, and obtained an Adolf Grimme Award 

as director for it. Also in 2008 Hans Steinbichler shot the short film “Fraktur”, his contribution to 

the compilation film Deutschland 09, with which 13 German directors expressed their thoughts on 

the state of the nation through short films. The world premiere was screened at the Berlinale in 

2009. 





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Title 

2011 Promising the Moon Director 

2009 Meine Heimat - Die Halbe Wahrheit (TV) Director, Script 

Fraktur - Deutschland 09 (Episode 7) Director, Script 

2008 My Mother, My Bride and I (TV) Director 

2007 Autistic Disco Director, Production 

2006 Winter Journey Director 

Bella Block: Mord unterm Kreuz 

Director 

2003 Hierankl Director, Script 

Bella Halben – Cinematography 

Bella Halben was born and raised in Hamburg, and, after her training as an advertising photographer, 

worked as assistant camerawoman and operator in the fields of news reporting, commercials and 

feature films. Since 1990 she has been active as a freelance camerawoman and has shot a number of 

feature films. She filmed Christopher Roth’s films “Looosers” (1995), “Candy” (1998) and “Baader” 

(2001), which obtained the Alfred Bauer Award at the 2002 Berlinale. In 2001 she shot Nicolette 

Krebitz’ directing debut “Jeans”, as well as her second film “The Heart Is a Dark Forrest” in 2006. In 

2003 she was in charge of photographing “Hierankl”, the first film which she made with Hans 

Steinbichler, and for which she obtained the Adolf Grimme Award in Gold and a nomination for the 

German Camera Award. Also in 2003 she shot “Aus der Tiefe des Raumes” (Director: Gil Mehmert), 

in 2004 “Eine andere Liga” (Director: Buket Alakus); in 2005 the episodes “Mord unterm Kreuz” 

(Director: Hans Steinbichler) and “Das Glück der Anderen” of the ZDF production “Bella Block”. 

Halben collaborated again with Hans Steinbichler in “Winter Journey” in 2005, “Autistic Disco” in 

2006, as well as the episode “Fraktur” for the compilation film Deutschland 09 in 2008. In 2007 Bella 

Halben wielded the camera for Caroline Link’s “A Year Ago in Winter” – for which she obtained a 

nomination for the German Camera Award. It was followed in 2008 by “The Door” (Director: Anna 

Saul), the TV two-parter “Der Kommissar und das Meer” (Director: Marcus Weiler), the TV fairy 

tale “Dornröschen” in 2009, which also starred Hannelore Elsner, “Hier kommt Lola” (Director: 

Franziska Buch) as well as the documentary film “Meine Heimat – Die halbe Wahrheit” (Director: 

Hans Steinbichler). 

Title 

Director 


2009 The Door Anno Saul 

Meine Heimat - Die Halbe Wahrheit (TV) Hans Steinbichler 

Fraktur - Deutschland 09 (Episode 7) Hans Steinbichler 

Dornröschen (TV) 

Oliver Dieckmann 


Der Kommissar und das Meer (TV) 

Marcus Weiler 

2007 The Heart Is a Dark Forrest Nicolette Krebitz 

Autistic Disco 


2006 Winter Journey Hans Steinbichler 

Bella Block: Mord unterm Kreuz (TV) Hans Steinbichler 

2005 Bella Block: Das Glück der anderen (TV) Christian von Castelberg 

2004 Aus der Tiefe des Raumes Gil Mehmert 





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2004 Eine andere Liga Buket Alakus 

2003 Hierankl Hans Steinbichler 

2001 Baader Christopher Roth 

Jeans 

Nicolette Krebitz 

Uli Aselmann / die film gmbh – Producer 

Born in Hamburg in 1957, Uli Aselmann studied German literature and musicology at the University 

of Bielefeld, worked as assistant director at Ida Ehre’s Hamburger Kammerspiele and financed his 

studies at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg as assistant director, radio producer and 

radio-play director at the NDR. After obtaining his film degree at the Hochschule für bildende 

Künste in Hamburg with the graduation film “Drei mal drei”, he worked as floor manager, designer 

and production manager for various German and international TV productions, and produced further 

short films of his own (including “Gefahren der Sehnsucht”). 

In 1992 he was hired by Jürgen Kriwitz for the neue deutsche Filmgesellschaft (ndF) in Munich. Here 

Aselmann produced commercials (with, among others, Helmut Dietl for the “Deutsche 

Fernsehlotterie”), series (including “Schloss Hohenstein,” “Um die 30”), theatrical films (e.g. „Der 

kalte Finger“) and TV movies for practically all German broadcasters (including “Amerika,” “Die 

Chaosqueen,” “Falsche Liebe”). Ralf Huettner’s police comedies “Die Musterknaben” became a kind 

of trademark for the producer Aselmann; in 1997 he was granted the First Movie Award at the 

Munich Filmfest for the best production achievement. In the same year he was nominated for the 

German Film Award as best producer for “Der Neffe” (director: Gabriela Zerhau). 

In 1997 Uli Aselmann founded die film gmbh and has since been the general manager and producer of 

this firm as well as of the subsidiary companies a.pictures film & tv. production.gmbh in Hamburg and 

cut.it film- und postproduktions gmbh in Stuttgart. Since July 2009 Andreas Ch. Tönnessen has been 

co-partner of die film gmbh. die film gmbh has also been the principal shareholder of the film 

production company TANGRAM International GmbH, specialized in documentaries, since 2010. The 

firms have made more than 80 productions to date, many of which have been nominated for German 

and international awards and have won awards in various categories. For example, the feature film 

“Vaya con Dios” was honored with the “VGF Award for the best film of a young cinema producer 

2001” at the Bavarian Film Awards in 2002. There were also successful theatrical films such as 

“Grenzverkehr” (2004: Director: Stefan Betz), “Meine Mutter, mein Bruder und Ich!” (2006; 

Director: Nuran D. Calis) as well as “Winter Journey” (2005: Hans Steinbichler), which was not only 

nominated as best film for the German Film Awards in 2007 and won Josef Bierbichler a Lola as best 

actor, but was also awarded the Fipresci Critics’ Award and the Jury Award in Brooklyn. The 

coproduction “Autistic Disco”, again with Steinbichler, had its theatrical release in October 2008 and 

was successful at many international festivals. “Die Perlmutterfarbe” (Director: Marcus H. 

Rosenmüller) had its theatrical release in spring 2009 and was also a hit at many festivals (BUSTER 

Copenhagen International Film Festival 2009 – Best Film; Castellinaria Film Festival 2009 – awarded 

the “Castello d’oro”; children’s media award 2009 for Markus Krojer). In 2010 die film gmbh 

produced the theatrical film “Dreiviertelmond” (script and direction: Christian Zübert),which is 

coming to German cinemas in fall 2011. The latest award for the firm was the Bavarian Film Award 

on 14 January 2011 for Best Production for PROMISING THE MOON. 





13

Uli Aselmann is cinema-section chairman and deputy chairman of the management board of the 

Allianz Deutscher Produzenten – Film & Fernseh and, since February 2009, executive committee 

member of the Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA). 

Aselmann is a member of the Deutsche Filmakademie and die film gmbh has been a sustaining 

member of the Deutsche Filmakademie since 2004. 

Title 

Director 


2010 Dreiviertelmond Christian Zübert 

2009 Die Perlmutterfarbe Markus H. Rosenmüller 

2007 Autistic Disco Hans Steinbichler 

2006 Meine Mutter, mein Bruder und ich! Nuran David Calis 

2005 Winter Journey Hans Steinbichler 

2004 Grenzverkehr Stefan Betz 

2003 Aus der Tiefe des Raumes Gil Mehmert 

2002 Die Musterknaben 3 Ralf Huettner 

2000 Vaya con Dios Zoltan Spirandelli 

And many TV movies 

www.diefilmgmbh.de 

Robert Thayenthal and Josephin Thayenthal – Screenplay 

Robert Thayenthal was born in Graz, Austria, where he studied theater directing at the Hochschule 

für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. After completing his studies, he worked for several years as a 

freelance director at many theaters in Germany and Austria and wrote stage plays, radio plays and 

novels. For more than 20 years now he has been writing successful scripts for movies and TV. 

Josephin Thayenthal studied art history at Berlin's Humboldt University and was active for several 

years as an art historian specializing in contemporary art. She came to filmmaking and writing through 

the study of Experimental Film Design and Narrative Film at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. 

Robert and Josephin Thayenthal have been working together since 2006. In 2009 they were 

nominated for the German Script Award for their first joint screenplay, PROMISING THE MOON. 

Also in 2009 their script “Amselherz” obtained a nomination for the Script Award of the 

International Filmfest in Emden. 

Robert and Josephin Thayenthal live in Berlin. 

Niki Reiser – Music 

Niki Reiser was born in Aargau (Switzerland) in 1958. He studied jazz and classical music at the 

Berklee School of Music in Boston, majoring in film music. Among his later teachers were Ennio 

Morricone and Jerry Goldsmith. In the early 1980s he wrote mainly film scores for American film 

productions and toured through the U.S. as a jazz flute player with his ensemble People. Reiser 

returned to Europe in 1986 and began his long-term collaboration with film director Dany Levy. Ten 

years later he wrote the film score to Caroline Link's debut film “Beyond Silence”. His soundtrack to 

the Oscar-nominated film sold over 200,000 copies and won the German Film Award in 1997. His 





14

musical talent was again confirmed at a variety of theaters throughout the world. He appeared with 

Kol Simcha on his world tour from 1997 to 1999, and played at Carnegie Hall and the Montreux Jazz 

Festival. Today he has a studio in Basel and has been in the managing board of the Deutsche 

Filmakademie since its founding in 2003. 

Soundtracks (selection): 

Title: 

Director: 


2009 Maria, He Doesn’t Like It Neele Vollmar 

The Wild Chicks and Life 

Vivian Naefe 


2007 Love Life Maria Schrader 

2006 My Führer Dany Levy 

2005 The White Massai Hermine Huntgeburth 

Go For Zucker! 

Dany Levy 

2004 Summer Storm Marco Kreuzpaintner 

2002 The Flying Classroom Tomy Wigand 

I’m the Father 

Dany Levy 

2001 Nowhere in Africa Caroline Link 

Heidi 

Markus Imboden 

Awards (Selection): 

German Film Award: 

1997 – Beyond Silence; 1999 - Meschugge, Annaluise & Anton; 2002 – Nowhere in Africa; 2005 – Go 

For Zucker! 

Bavarian Film Award: 

1996 – Silent Night 

Swiss Film Music Award 

2001 – Cold Is the Breath of Evening 

Award of the German Film Critics 

2004 – The Flying Classroom 

BETA CINEMA (World Sales) 

Beta Cinema is the theatrical division of Beta Film. Launched in 2001, Beta Cinema has established 

itself as a "boutique operation" for independent feature films with strong potential for theatrical 

distribution. Beta Cinema's philosophy is to limit its selective acquisition policy of 10 to 15 titles per 

year in order to fully develop the theatrical potential of each title according to its individual 

character. Beta Cinema’s portfolio includes outstanding productions like JOHN RABE, which won 

four German Film Awards 2009, Cannes 2008 Jury Prize-winning IL DIVO, Academy Award 2008- 

winning THE COUNTERFEITERS, Academy Award 2008 nominated MONGOL, Academy Award 

2007-winning THE LIVES OF OTHERS and the Academy Award 2005-nominated DOWNFALL. 





15

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