As of: February 3, 2024, 4:00 p.m
By: Alexandra Anderka
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Filming with Gangerl in Indonesia (from left): Thomas Wittmann, Wolfgang Clemens alias Gangerl, Julian Wittmann, Markus Schindler and David Miller.
© Rainer Ramisch/Watch Hi Films
Thomas and Julian Wittmann are making a film in Indonesia about the adventurer Gangerl.
Lengdorf/Lombok
– The two runaways Thomas and Julian Wittmann from Lengdorf run away again.
This time they left their mopeds at home and took the plane to Indonesia.
After a week in Bali, they are currently filming with their production team on the neighboring island of Lombok.
The main character is the Bavarian dropout Gangerl.
The question should be: “What does it take to really be able to get out?” We conducted an interview with the brothers from Lengdorf, in which Gangerl also had his say at the end.
Thomas and Julian Wittmann, how long have you been planning the documentary about the adventurer Wolfgang Clemens?
Julian Wittmann: We came across Gangerl on the internet at the beginning of the corona pandemic.
There we saw how the lonely sailor spent his quarantine on an island off Malaysia: white beach, waving palm leaves and not a pig in sight.
We quickly became fascinated by his life and contacted him.
We were immediately on the same wavelength.
We soon decided to make a film together.
Isn't it difficult to set up a production office on the other side of the world?
Who supported you?
Thomas Wittmann: It's definitely a challenge.
Precisely because the mills here grind a little differently and, above all, more slowly than in Germany.
We once again received a tremendous amount of support from fantastic people and companies on this project, including Jan and Melanie Haft from nautilusfilm in Esterndorf.
You became known for your film “Ausgrissn”, in which you rode from Erding to Las Vegas on Zündapp mopeds.
The gangerl is also torn off.
What connects you with him?
Thomas Wittmann: A clear message connects Ausgrissn and Gangerl's most important credo: “Don't give a shit, then don't do anything!” The path can still be so long and uncertain, whether to Las Vegas or across the Indonesian sea, with will and coolness With common sense and a good team you can achieve your goal.
Despite all the euphoria, you can't be naive, we are small fish in a big sea and we won't let anything get away with it.
Not every officer can be bribed, not every port turns a blind eye to anchoring, and not every community welcomes newcomers with open arms.
What else do you have in common with him?
Julian Wittmann: Even though the Gangerl is carved from unique wood, we may still have a few things in common.
Just like him, we love to leave our Bavarian homeland every now and then.
Nasi Goreng instead of Leberkäse, Komodo Island instead of Rose Island and sailing ship instead of Zündapp.
What also unites us is that we are always looking for new challenges, even if you can't compare over 100,000 nautical miles with a Zündapp trip to Las Vegas.
At the same time, and this is also what the film is intended to convey, we, just like Gangerl, do not lose our connection to our Bavarian origins.
That's why we also speak Bavarian on set, which could make his acting debut a little easier for Gangerl.
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What are the differences between you and your protagonist?
Thomas Wittmann: Even though Gangerl is still a child inside, just as enthusiastic about new things as he was in his youth, we are a young film team around 30 and Gangerl is an 82-year-old from a different time.
When we get up at 7 a.m., he has already been awake for three hours, has had breakfast and is working on his boat.
Of course, at the end of the day he goes to bed much earlier than we do.
Just as Gangerl got out, at the age of 46, out of Germany with a self-built sailing yacht, we will probably not continue our life, even if the conditions back home sometimes upset us just as much as Gangerl does.
Julian Wittmann: Gangerl is a refugee, a child of the silent generation of parents who didn't talk about the war.
His father remained in Soviet captivity for a while after 1945, but he never returned to his son.
This still shapes Gangerl today; he had to take on the role of father in his family at an early age.
Of course, we both grew up much more sheltered.
To dare to quit completely, you need a predisposition, and it lies deep in your own biography.
What did you learn from him?
Thomas Wittmann: From Gangerl you can learn what a healthy combination of calmness and drive can look like in everyday life or even on the high seas.
But you should never bury your head in the sand unless the director demands it for the film!
What makes Gangerl's life a major film event?
Julian Wittmann: If you wanted, you could film Gangerl's life with its many episodes in a 14-season series.
The very beginning of his dropout seems unearthly: who in the world spends twelve years building a sailing ship in their own driveway?
Without any outside help, only with a shipbuilding manual and battered craftsman's hands.
Thomas Wittmann: And his journey doesn't even begin there.
Since the age of 47, I've spent almost all my time alone on the high seas.
Hunted by pirates, attacked by poisonous snakes, in search of the most beautiful paradises on earth.
His walk from the southernmost tip of Africa all the way up to the Mediterranean alone is worthy of its own film.
He has visited over 100 countries, covered over 100,000 nautical miles, and now, at the age of 82, he still hasn't reached his destination.
Anyone who gets to the bottom of the world's big questions with such relentlessness and patience is truly worth making a documentary about.
What can moviegoers expect from “Gangerl’s Happiness”?
That's the working title.
Julian Wittmann: From what it looks like after two weeks, it will be a documentary tragicomedy with a feature film feel, volcanic eruption, hospital stay, white beaches, rough seas and gangsters à la Tom Cruise.
So it's actually a completely normal cinema.
Is everything going according to plan or were there any surprises?
Thomas Wittmann: Shooting a documentary in Indonesia is not like in the Bavaria Film Studios.
We were aware of that.
That's why we couldn't plan every little thing in advance.
But the chaos we have found here so far goes far beyond our imaginations.
Because the culture is simply different.
People lose their calm and it's difficult to organize things the way you imagine.
What happened?
Julian Wittmann: Sometimes the driver falls asleep in the car with which he was supposed to pick us up from a ferry, sometimes clothes are returned from the laundry so that half of them are missing.
It seems as if the forced industrialization is overwhelming people, speeding up their lives unnecessarily, so that they have difficulty keeping up.
A different lifestyle?
Thomas Wittmann: Yes, and that also has some good things.
There is no complaining when a ferry doesn't come or the boat you ordered docks in the wrong place, the reaction is always the same: calmly waiting, doing nothing and staring into the eternal distance as if there was no world out there.
Imagine how German train drivers would react to a late train.
That would be paradise. Of course, you can only get such peace and quiet through sun and the sound of the sea, which is what we miss while waiting on the frozen train platform at home.
Have you found answers to the question: “What does it take to really get out?”
Julian Wittmann: We have definitely found an answer: you need a lot of patience.
A documentary in Indonesia about a dropout, like a sailor's dropout, requires a lot of preparation and does not simply follow a spontaneous inspiration.
It takes triggers, and one isn't enough.
A question for Gangerl: Do you see similarities between yourself and the young runaways?
Wolfgang Clemens: I have been working with the Wittmann brothers on our project for three years now and have gotten to know and appreciate them very well.
Just like me, they set their minds on something and go for it no matter what.
And that impressed me!
The entire film project was planned beforehand and is now a big challenge when shooting, but the guys manage everything and pull it off professionally despite the sometimes difficult conditions.