Scene photo from the series "The Gryphon" © Prime Video
This week, the series adaptation of the Wolfgang Hohlbein classic "The Griffin" starts on Amazon Prime Video. In this interview, the creators of the series tell us what to look forward to, which German fantasy projects are still waiting in the wings and why "Der Greif" was a dream project by Erol Yesilkaya and Sebastian Marka.
Fantasy boom in Germany
And suddenly it's here, the German fantasy series. After decades of radio silence, apart from a few cinema excursions and exceptional phenomena like "Dark", four new fantasy series from local climes are in the starting blocks. "Kohlrabenschwarz", a horror adaptation of the Pied Piper of Hamelin saga, a serial adaptation of the comic "Something is Killing the Children" by "1899" makers Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese as well as "Der Greif".
Just a question of money?
Pure luxury, you might think, but the road there was certainly rocky for the makers. Apart from thrillers, comedy and good-feel after-work entertainment à la "The Mountain Doctor", hardly any financier in this country dared to approach science fiction, mystery, horror and fantasy on television. When asked whether it wasn't time for fantasy to receive more appreciation from German hands, Erol Yesilkaya answers in an interview we conduct with him, Sebastian Marka and Wolfgang Hohlbein via Zoom: "Absolutely. Of course, as filmmakers, we dream of this genre. Why should we always show only what is happening around us on television, without being able to take full advantage of the medium and let your imagination run wild? Creating your own worlds, translating the things that concern you into the fantastic, being so free visually and story-wise and seeing things that you otherwise only see in your dreams: That's the wish of all filmmakers. In Germany, this has not been possible so far, both for genre and industry reasons. The desire was definitely there and luckily there is finally the opportunity to do so." You can read more about the background to the creation of "The Griffin" at Serienjunkies.de. (Reinhard Prahl)