Filmed nativity scene: With Playmobil figures to Bethlehem

A filmed nativity scene with Playmobil figures - this funny idea was put into practice by volunteers from the Protestant parish of Olching-Maisach with Pastor Steffen Barth.

Maisach -

The five-part film will be shown on the Internet from the first time in Advent.

An episode is added every week up to and including Christmas Eve.

The Playmobil figures take on the roles of the protagonists of the Christmas story: Mary and Joseph, the baby Jesus, the shepherds, the three wise men from the Orient, King Herod.

So that the whole thing does not turn out to be a silent film or only a narrator speaks in the background, people from public life lend the characters their voices.

Among them are the directors of kindergarten and elementary school, but also Mayor Hans Seidl.

He speaks to King Herod.

Much encouragement

"It should be people whose voices the children recognize," says Isabelle Freund. Last year she had the idea for the film project - originally out of necessity because no face-to-face event was possible during lockdown. “We still wanted to set up a nativity play,” she says. And so it happened. The story back then: A news broadcast reports on the census ordered by Emperor Augustus. A reporter interviews people who then set off for their hometown - including a young couple named Maria and Joseph.

The film, published on YouTube, was very popular.

Isabelle Freund says she was approached by families in elementary school who otherwise had nothing to do with the parish.

And Pastor Barth reports that even a Hamburg children's clinic reported: "The children there apparently looked forward to the next episode every week."

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A Playmobil knight's castle serves as the backdrop for the events in Jerusalem.

Pia Nolde and Nadine Ehe (photo left, from left) are also at work, because the 24-12 bus is about to leave.

The two set up the illuminated set in a box that was specially made for the project.

© Weber

Reason enough to start a new film this year.

The volunteer team already knew what amount of work would be involved.

The 15-minute film consists of thousands of photos that are cut together on the PC.

It took a whole day just to set up and photograph the scenes.

Playmobil figures and buildings from different game worlds were used.

One of the twelve backdrops shows the city of Jerusalem, consisting of a knight's castle and farmhouses.

In order to be able to optimally illuminate the scenes, a light box with a paper roof was specially built from cardboard.

This dampened the light falling from above and softened the contrasts.

The fact that you can still see the craftsmanship of the amateur in the end result is quite intentional.

"It is precisely this imperfection that makes the charm," says Isabelle Freund.

Mayor speaks to King Herod

This time, the focus of the film is on the three wise men who are looking for the newborn baby Jesus.

One of her ways leads her to King Herod, "the villain in history", according to Barth.

Dubbing actor Hans Seidl enjoyed this role: "A mayor shouldn't even think what Herod is saying." His acting experience goes back a long time, he reports.

When he was twelve he was on stage in school.

Now there is "enough theater" in his everyday life in the town hall.

It has been clarified that the Playmobil company has no problem with the use of their figures.

The company's policies only prohibit defective characters from being used or destroyed on camera.

To find

are the three-minute episodes of the nativity scene film (and those of the previous year) from the first Sunday in Advent (November 28) on YouTube under the search term "Evangelisch Olching-Maisach".