After a mid-air collision, a charter flight with 92 passengers on board flies rudderless over Germany. Its point of impact is predictable: inner city Berlin.
This is a very brief synopsis of the TV production Crashpoint: Berlin, the studio takes for which are currently taking place at Babelsberg. The shots of the aeroplane’s interior were done on an original aeroplane film set constructed in the New Film 1 studio by the Studio Babelsberg's Art Department. The impressive set construction makes it possible to shoot action scenes with long tracking shots along the whole length of the plane and in the cockpit. The director of the Hager Moss production, commissioned by ProSieben, is Thomas Jauch, the script was written by Marc Hillefeld and Bettina Platz and the cameraman is Peter Krause. The leading actors include Peter Haber, Max von Pufendorf, Julia Hartmann, Bernadette Heerwagen, Hannes Jaenicke, Alexander Held and Devid Striesow. The project is funded by FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (Bavarian TV film fund), the Media Board of Berlin-Brandenburg and MEDIA.
Furthermore, the location shots of the new Egoli Tossell production of Hilde are currently taking place at Babelsberg. The film narrates highlights of the life of the world-famous star Hildegard Knef, played by Heike Makatsch. The team, led by director and Grimme prize winner Kai Wessel, is filming on the studio premises as well as on the "Berliner Strasse“ backlot. The Art Department turned the façades of 26 houses into a scene resembling Berlin in the 1950s. Together with Heike Makatsch, the film features Monica Bleibtreu, Michael Gwisdek, Hanns Zischler, Sylvester Groth and the musician Roger Cicero, as well as the British actor Dan Stevens. The Director of Photography is Hagen Bogdanski, who was awarded the Bundesfilmpreis (German film prize) for Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) in 2006.
Besides the Art Department, the Studio Babelsberg props and the costume studio are also involved in the production. The responsible set designer is Thomas Freudenthal and the costume designer is Lucie Bates, who received the Bundesfilmpreis for Alles auf Zucker (Go for Zucker) in 2005.
Christoph Fisser, Board of Directors of Studio Babelsberg AG: “It is pleasing to see that we are also attractive for German productions and that our service offering is increasingly being used by German filmmakers.”
