For his Master's degree in the Faculty of Design at Fachhochschule Dortmund, director Patrick Büchting completed the youth feature film "Morgen irgendwo am Meer". The 25-year-old is currently preparing the film's cinema premiere. He recently won an audience award with his summer road movie at the Bremen Film Festival.
Four young adults, just graduated from high school, in a gold Mercedes on their way from Germany to Lisbon, basically in search of themselves, their own lives, great love and true friendship: "When I read the novel 'Morgen irgendwo am Meer' in the first Corona lockdown in 2020, I knew immediately: I have to make this emotional story into a film!" recalls Patrick Büchting.
When author Adriana Popescu gave the green light, it was time to start adapting the script and making further plans. "I know all too well what it's like to have no plan for where life will take you after school," says Patrick Büchting. "I can't solve the problem of disorientation for other people, but I can create characters who are in a similar situation in order to initiate conversations about the future."
Experienced junior staff
He was able to recruit experienced young actors: His film quartet is made up of Louie Betton (ARD series "Tatort"), Sophia Münster (movie series "Hanni & Nanni") as well as Jonas Kaufmann and Carlotta Weide (TV series "Schloss Einstein"). The film was shot under coronavirus conditions in a total of 14 cities - including Dortmund. "Here, we briefly transformed a city arcade into a French setting with new signage," reveals Patrick Büchting. The team used creative tricks on many of the 30 or so days of filming. For example, the scenes planned for Lisbon were actually shot by the sea, but on Mallorca instead.
Now Patrick Büchting, together with the stars of his road trip and author Adriana Popescu, is looking forward to the planned premiere weekend in cinemas in Oberhausen (October 14) and Darmstadt (October 15). The costs for the 80-minute film were in the five-figure range, with support coming from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the Fachhochschule Dortmund and a crowdfunding campaign.