To know more - Delphis Films

&
Proudly present
Winner of the
German Film Award 2008
the Golden Gryphon at Giffoni’s International Film Festival 2008
the Audience Award at Tokyo’s International Film Festival 2007

SYNOPSIS
Leroy (17) is German – and black. He lives in Berlin, wears a big afro,
but prefers Mozart to Hip Hop. Leroy’s friends are outsiders as well, Dimi
is Greek and Achmed is Palestinian. However they all have girlfriends
except Leroy. When cute Eva falls in love with him, nobody is as
surprised and confused as Leroy himself.
But first love is not always sweet. Eva’s family turns out to be right wing
extremists. They even named their Australian parrots after two of Hitler’s
generals and Eva’s five skinhead brothers are longing to kick Leroy’s butt
asap.
However, Leroy does not give up easily. He assembles his friends, fights
for his love and, in his own style, revives the black power movement of
the 70s. His motto: Funk not Fascism.
Leroy (Alain Morel) and Eva (Anna Hausburg), © by David Baltzer
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Eva (Anna Hausburg), © by David Baltzer
READY TO FIGHT Achmed (Arnel Taci), Antonia (Doris Hoffmann), Leroy (Alain Morel), Dimi (Constantin
v. Jascheroff) and Fanny (Judith Grassinger), © by David Baltzer
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6 QUESTIONS about LEROY
ARMIN VÖLCKERS/ DIRECTOR
What is your personal approach to LEROY’s story?
- I was born in Berlin but I grew up in Brazil. I lived there together with my parents
till I was seven. Those early experiences influenced me so much that I couldn’t let
them go entirely. In Brazil I was regarded as the European who’s on top of the social
system within a country full of grinding poverty and misery. When I returned to
Germany I was a misfit – a German who felt Brazilian.
What is your relation to Blaxploitation?
- When we came back to Germany in 1970 my father bought a color TV set. At that
time all these existing films were shown on TV. Cool black actors wearing flashy
clothes and afros, lots of soul music, crowded streets, bad action scenes and badly lit
night shots. That reminded me of Brazil. Maybe that’s because I’ve had enormous
problems with other kids and the entire new environment here in Germany.
Blaxploitation and those TV series had a huge impact on me because they were my
key to the past and Brazil.
ALAIN MOREL
Similarities to LEROY?
At the very beginning I didn’t understand LEROY’s way of thinking. But after a while
I really learned to appreciate him. He’s very kind-hearted and he’s that type of guy
who believes in everybody in contrast to me. It always takes a while after I’m able to
assess the character of someone else. His good faith was very surprising to me but I
learned to love this trait.
Do films like LEROY have an effect?
Personally, I’ve seen many films which had a big impact on my way of thinking.
LEROY can provoke that, too, because of his wonderful optimism. He is able to bring
up issues like racism and right-wing violence but without being heavy handed.
To my mind LEROY’s way of raising these topics – with lots of humor and without
embarrassment – can have a big effect on people. It’s a new mindset of dealing with
racism. A lot of people in Germany still cannot cope with the fact that even ‚Turks’ or
‚Africans’ are Germans. I’ve often made the experience that people talked to me in
English automatically simply because they thought I’m not able to understand
German. I like LEROY so much because no one asks him where he comes from. It’s
simply natural that he’s present and that he is what he is. LEROY’s perspective is
shown as being normal and to me that’s definitely one of the film’s strength.
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OLIVER STOLTZ/ PRODUCER
What’s so special about LEROY?
- Leroy is a nice young German black guy living in Berlin. He's the kind of guy you’d
like to hang around with, he’s cool, he’s a got a great sense of humour and a
refreshing way of looking at life.
German films rarely mention our growing diversity and when they do, they often look
at people of color, or those who have distinct cultural differences, as not being really
German at all. But Leroy is a German, a typical German and like so many other
members of minority groups, who make up 20% of our population, he breathes the
same polluted air, works for a living, falls in love and follows the Bundesliga.
Armin’s story combines humour and pathos in the most intriguing way. He tackles
the problem of racism from a new perspective, dares to laugh about Germany’s Nazi
past and constantly surprises the audience with the way he approaches prejudice
and the negative effect it has on so many people’s lives.
LEROY entertains but it’s also a thought provoking film that will leave a lasting
impression on the audience. It challenges all the old clichés, refuses to bow to the
idea of stereotypes and throws new light on subjects that others have been too timid
to deal with.
Does LEROY have a mission?
- To me and to Dreamer Joint Venture, the important films are those which entertain
you while you’re sitting in the cinema but which also make you reflect on problems in
society or between human beings. With my documentary LOST CHILDREN, about
former child soldiers in Northern Uganda, I’ve realized you can motivate the audience
to do something for other people and to change their way of thinking. And I must
say we achieved quite a lot with that little film for the children of Uganda.
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SONGS, SCORE & SOUNDTRACK
Soul, funk and groove is music you do not associate with German cinema?
LEROY is doin’ it! Score composer Ali N. Askin and Soundtrack supervisor Denyo
created fantastic music utilizing the 70’s Blaxploitation beat of Isaac Hayes, Quincy
Jones and Roy Ayers.
Famous German hip hop artists like Blumentopf, Afrob feat. Lisi, Miss Platnum,
Curse, Harris, Torch and many more lent their individual styles to the soundtrack,
melding 70’s funk with modern sounds. Young talent Clueso wrote two songs
especially for the LEROY soundtrack after he saw the film for the first time. Pioneers
of German black music like Seeed, Joy Denalane and Jan Delay are on the
soundtrack as well.
“1st Song of a Day” by legend Lee Hazlewood stems from a collaboration between
him and German singer Bela B.
All the artists on the soundtrack have common political and social interests. Some
advocate their political concern by writing socially relevant and politically pertinent
lyrics. Others show their advocacy by supporting anti-racist organizations such as
Brothers Keepers.
Four Music the leading black music in Germany produced the soundtrack.
Score composer Ali N. Askin was inspired by Blaxploitation music and the
collaboration with Denyo and the artists on the soundtrack. Ali watched famous films
like SHAFT or JACKIE BROWN, listened to records and cds of the 70s and revived his
tracks with the great music by Hayes, Jones and Ayers.
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CAST
LEROY Alain Morel
EVA Anna Hausburg
DIMI Constantin v. Jascheroff
LEROY’s DAD Guenther Kaufmann
LEROY’s MUM Eva Mannschott
ACHMED Arnel Taci
BLACULA Afrob
HANNO Paul Maass
HORST Julius Jelinek
SIEGFRIED Andreas Schulz
WOTAN Raphael Wildt
EVA’s MUM Cay Helmich
EVA’s DAD Conrad F. Geier
JERÔME Wilfried Hochholdinger
ZOLTAN Kerem Can
ACHMED’s COUSIN Oktay Oezdemir
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CREW
WRITER/ DIRECTOR Armin Völckers
PRODUCER Oliver Stoltz
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Jan Krueger
DP Tony Mitchell
PRODUCTION DESIGN Christiane Rothe
COSTUME DESIGN Constanze Hagedorn
SOUND Peter Schmidt
CASTING Weldy & Seibicke
COACH Sigrid Anderson
EDITOR Marty Schenk
SCORE Ali N. Askin
O.S.T. SUPERVISOR Denyo
and many more
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ACTORS
ALAIN MOREL
aka LEROY
Alain (19) grew up in Berlin where he still lives. His mother is German and his father
comes from the Republic of the Congo. After the short film LEROY CLEANS UP which
was primarily posted on the internet and was presented at film festivals worldwide
LEROY is Alain’s first time on the big screen. Alain has finished his final secondaryschool
examinations this summer and wants to continue acting. Additionally he works
as a DJ in several Berlin clubs.
Filmography
Director
2007 LEROY by Armin Völckers
2005 LEROY CLEANS UP by Armin Völckers
ANNA HAUSBURG
aka EVA
Anna was born in Berlin in 1990. Since her childhood she has acted in commercials.
In 2002 she began to star in TV productions and her big screen debut followed in
2004 with the film MAX AND MORITZ: RELOADED. Anna still goes to school, but she
manages perfectly to combine school and film set.
Filmography (selection)
Director
2007 LEROY by Armin Völckers
ANNA’s LATE FORTUNE by Jan Ruzicka
2006 MY OLD FRIEND FRITZ by Dieter Wedel
ALL ABOUT ANNA by Ulrich Zrenner
2005 TKKG by Tomy Wigand
2004 MAX & MORITZ:RELOADED by Thomas Frydetzki
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BEHIND THE SCENES
OLIVER STOLTZ
producer
Oliver Stoltz was born in Bonn in 1969. He studied at the Hochschule für Film und
Fernsehen “Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam/Babelsberg and he was the first German to
receive an M.F.A. from the Motion Picture Production Department at the University of
Southern California, L. A.
In 1996 he was associate producer for the German box-office hit “Knockin’ on
Heaven’s Door” for Buena Vista International. One year later Oliver Stoltz founded
Dreamer Joint Venture Filmproduktion GmbH.
The documentary “Lost Children”, which was in pre-selection for the Academy
Awards 2006, was Oliver Stoltz´s debut as author and director. He received – as its
producer – the German Film Award 2006 for “Best Documentary”.
Dreamer Joint Venture is currently working on the preproduction of “How It Shines”
after the novel by famous German author Thomas Brussig. Furthermore, two
comedies (“Ein Perser im Schafspelz” by Ali Samadi Ahadi and “Germany Sweet ’n
Sour” by Frank Nesemann) as well as two documentaries (“Killing Seeds” by Bettina
Borgfeld & Christin Stoltz and “Opium-The War on Drugs in Iran” by Ali Samadi Ahadi
& Oliver Stoltz) are in preproduction.
Filmography (selection)
Director
2007 LEROY Armin Völckers
2005 LOST CHILDREN Oliver Stoltz/Ali
Samadi Ahadi
LEROY CLEANS UP Armin Völckers
1998 KAI RABE VS. VATIKANKILLERS Thomas Jahn
1996 KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR Thomas Jahn
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ARMIN VÖLCKERS
writer/ director
Armin Völckers was born in West Berlin in 1963 but left for Rio de Janeiro shortly
thereafter, where he grew up. He studied Fine Arts at the UdK Berlin from 1983-88,
and has exhibited his paintings on more than 50 occasions in Europe and America.
Armin Völckers became a freelance screenwriter in 1997 and worked, among others,
for the Constantin Film AG. He also worked as a producer of animated series, script
editor, CD and director for various companies, such as EM.TV and TV-Loonland.
Armin Völckers is currently living and working in Berlin.
Filmography
2007 LEROY
2005 LEROY CLEANS UP
TONY MITCHELL
DP
It was New York Director of Photography Tony Mitchell (born in 1943) who was
responsible for creating the very special look of LEROY.
Having acted as director of photography for feature films such as HIGHLANDER (NYC
Unit), as well as music videos for numerous stars, including Ozzy Osbourne, Billy
Idol, Duran Duran, Freddie Mercury, Tina Turner and David Bowie, Tony Mitchell’s
filmography resembles a piece of pop history.
AFTER THE BATTLE Eva (Anna Hausburg) and Leroy (Alain Morel), © by David Baltzer
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