World premiere in Dießen: the dam-breaking fantasy

Created: 12/04/2022 12:21 p.m

By: Susanne Greiner

Posing in a flurry of flashbulbs on Dießen's red carpet: the crew of "Be Water, my Reporterin" in front of the cinema world (from left) Louis Panizza, Anton Gruber, Elisabeth-Marie Leistikow, André Döbert and Luis Lüps.

© Greiner

Ammersee - Stay flexible, both physically and mentally.

Or as Bruce Lee put it for his book: "Be Water, my Friend." And yes, the film title of the "sci-fi adventure blockbuster" by the Uttinger ELLE collective is not just coincidentally called "Be Water, my Reporter".

After all, journalism is about filling out a fact with researched results – says leading actress Elisabeth-Marie Leistikow, whose character Rosalie Rosenberger, captured for eternity by the jerky Roland lawn sprinkler on camera, follows the film at every turn.

It still has to be deciphered: What is buried in the Ammersee? 

The theatrical spectacle about water and truth “The Meditator” revolved around what is wafting around in the bottom of the lake, sunk by the Meditier, the bleached bull and the Enlightening Dog, which caused questioning looks and enthusiasm in Utting last year.

The initial for the film takes its course there: Rosalie is not allowed on the raft, is not allowed to shine in the lake.

And you, the truth-seeker on behalf of Ammersee-Kurier-TV.

With the help of the time- and place-ignoring 'humming lamp thing' known from "Meditier", she travels with cameraman Roland (in the literal sense meaningless: André Döbert, as a newscaster a local broadcast revelation) by means of a wormhole connection around the lake, meets Moby -Dick-obsessed bookseller (gorgeous: Anton Gruber),

radio-radiated pastis-drinking philosophers under Raisting's earth station satellites (inspiring: Erwin Kloker), talking flowers (special effects: Döbert) or even the average water sports enthusiast (spectacularly normal: Luis Lüps).

In the end, after (here and there) numerous steps and kicks, Rosalie stands in the desert: without answers, without buzzing lamp thingy – meditator, bull and enlightening dog grab it – and disappears with Roland in the falling water that fills the desert – “ Be Water, my reporter".

The flood of questions

For the world premiere of the film by “ELLE Collective Professional Productions” – winners of the Pubic Viewing Awards (PLUTO for short) 2022 and participants in the Sirius Star Film Festival – the stars come in a van, right on the red carpet, bathed in a flurry of flashbulbs.

"The fact that we're standing here borders on a miracle," adds co-director Lüps with small talk.

You can feel: professionals, washed with stage water.

During the obligatory question and answer session after the credits and applause, a child (bought it?) takes the leading role: "Where did the lamp end up?", "The man from the bookstore, is that the one there?", "How does the water get into the at the end?" Desert" or "I want to see the funny creatures!".

But the nationally known Schondorf blogger also spoke up and referred to Bruce Lee in a cinematically educated manner.

"Burning topical," says Leistikow and calls the current study "Did Bruce Lee die from too much water?".

Seriously, what makes the ELLE collective's productions unique is absurdities like this coincidence - Bruce Lee's kidneys are said to have actually not been working properly.

Is a rampant imagination and the lack of shyness to implement even the most insane - such as shooting the material for a 75-minute film in three days.

Is the pleasure in the staging - see red carpet, see reporter.

Ultimately, it's the unbelievable passion for play, or better: the joy of playing of the three ELLE collectives Leistikow, Panizza and Lüps and their accomplices.

Anton Gruber finds clear words for this at the end: "Let's compare the ELLE collective to FIFA." The latter tries unsuccessfully and at enormous financial expense to be global and to assert values.

The ELLE collective, on the other hand, is the “anti-FIFA”: “It’s about the game and what’s possible is played.” If someone does it with so much intensity, then yes “then it’s a sign of hope”.