Professional Documents
Culture Documents
presents
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release date: S th Apri l 2010
www.neukoelln-unlimited.de
The siblings Hassan (18), Lial (19) and Maradona (14) are talented musicians and
breakdancers growing up in Berlin's notorious Neukolln district. HipHop and streetdance
are their language and their passion.
Their family is from Lebanon and lives in constant danger of being deported from
Germany. To prevent this from happening, and to secure a residency permit for the
whole family, Hassan and Lial have a plan: to use their artistic talents to provide the
necessary financial support for their family.
When the two teenagers have trouble coping with the pressure, a rivalry arises over who
should be the family 1s primary t:.>readwinner.
Meanwhile, Maradona gets himself into more and more trouble, and is suspended from
school. He is at a crossroads, torn between motivation and resignation, between his
siblings' ambitious lifestyle and the street credibility of his crew.
However, his surprising qualification for a TV casting show could prove to be the turning
point. If he wins the 100,000 euro cash prize, he could be the one who saves his family.
News release
NEUKOLLN UNLIMITED takes an authentic and honest look at the lives of Neukolln
siblings Hassan, Lial and Maradona, who are fighting for their family's right to reside in
Germany. The camera is always present - at school, during their vocational training, in
their apartment, and of course where they are happiest: during their song and dance
gigs, the breakdance battles and contests.
The rapid-fire pace, lively beats and animation sequences take NEUKOLLN UNLIMITED
beyond the usual cliches about immigrants and problem neighborhoods.
HASSAN
UAL
MARADONA
This eclectic mix reflects the protagonists' life-between-two-cultures, and paints an accoustic
portrait of daily life in Neukolln. Other songs in the film were written and performed by the
protagonists themselves, produced by the Berlin independent label Foreign Flavour. Particularly
noteworthy are Hassan's political rap lyrics, which are autobiographical and accurately reflect the
attitudes of many youths with an immigrant background.
One of the film's main focuses is, of course, dance, which for our protagonists is not merely a
hobby, but almost a philosphy.
To convey these experiences credibly and to take the audience along on this emotional journey,
Agostino I mondi and Dietmar Ratsch decided it was important not to show the historical context
by using the classical documentary style of so-called "talking heads'' giving interviews.
They wanted to find a way to convey the experience of being deported and of feeling like a
stranger in one's homeland, in this case Lebanon. They needed something that would remain in
the audiences' memories long after having seen the film .
Because graffiti is a major artistic method of expression in the hip-hop and breaker scene, the
directors decided to portray past events in the style of comic strips.
Comic strip artist Benjamin Kniebe developed the drawings. Animation specialist Julia Dufek made
the individual drawings come to life. The challenge of the animated sequences lay in portraying
the drama without appearing unintentionally funny.
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AGOSTINO IMONDI
Agostino Imondi was born in 1975 in Basel. 2000-2003 he worked as a director of
photography and editor for the Austral ian TV station 11 Channel 31 Melbourne".
2003-2004 he took the Director's class at ,,Scuola di Cinema" in Rome. His first short
film ,,Waking up the Nation" was screened in official competitions of various interna-
tional film festiva ls.
FILMOGRAPHY
DIRECTOR
2001 BEST OF ACCESS NEWS (Production: SKA TV, with Channel 31 Mel-
bourne)
DIETMAR RATSCH
Dietmar Ratsch was born in 1970 in Soltau, Germany. 1993-2000 he worked as a free-
lance cinematographer for various broadcasters and production companies. In 1998 he
also was a steady cam and crane operator for SWR (German TV). 1995-2000 Studies
of Documentary Filmmaking at Baden-Wurttemberg Film Academy, implementation of
and cooperation in several short films and documentaries. 2000 diploma "Director for
Documentary Film". Since 2001 managing director of INDI FILM GmbH for fiction and
documentary productions.
FILMOGRAPHY
Sonia Otto was born 1971 in H6xter, Germany. After she completed her degree in cu -
lutral studies and audiovisual media in Berlin and Seville Sonia Otto worked as an
author and assistant director on several documentaries and short films. Since 2001
she supports IND! FILM as a creative producer.
Arek Gielnik was born 1969 in Poland. After he finished his studies of audiovisual media
in Stuttgart, Germany, he and Dietmar Ratsch founded the INDI FILM GmbH Ludwigs-
burg (in 2001). As producer and managing director Arek Gielnik is responsible for the
development and production of creative documentaries and feature films for national
and international cinema- and TV-markets. In 2004 he participated in the EAVE-training
and project development programme for European and interantional audiovisual produ-
cers.
FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION)
INDI FILM has worked successfully with young talents as well as established authors. We
produce genuine and authentic films with 'un certa in regard'. Our attention's drawn to cre-
ative documentaries demanding in both content and style. With our documentaries we
don't want to report about, but experience matters of different regions, cultures, and pers-
pectives. For these reasons we produce our topics as 'grand-format' and for cinema au-
diences if possible.
Managing Director/ Producer AREK GIELNIK graduated from Stuttgart Media University
(HdM) in the year 2000. During his studies as well as after his graduation as a master of
audio-visual media, he was employed as a Unit Production Manager with the German
broadcaster SOdwestrundfunk (SWR). With INDI FILM Arek Gielnik as the executive/ dele-
gate producer is responsible for project-development, -financing and - production issues.
Managing Director/ Author and Director DIETMAR RATSCH worked eight years as an inde-
pendent cinematographer before he graduated from Baden-WOrttemberg Film Academy as
a director of documentary film . With INDI FILM Dietmar Ratsch manages the post-produc-
tion department. Apart from that he directs his own documentaries within our portfolio and
contributes creatively to projects of other cl ients as a director of photography and/ or script
advisor.
Creative Producer SONIA OTTO joined the company in 2002. She is in charge of documen-
tary development and project monitoring . Sonia Otto is a graduate of Cultural Sciences
from the Humboldt University Berlin and of audio-visual Communication in Seville, Spain.
She worked as an independent author and assistant director on several shorts and docu-
mentaries.
INDI FILM has its roots in the documentary " Iced Lemonade for Hong Li" which today's
managing directors Dietmar Ratsch and Arek Gielnik produced in 1999/2000. After com-
pleting th is project, that had its premier at the Berlinale 2001,. they founded the INDI FILM
GmbH at Ludwigsburg, Germany.
Over the first years INDI FILM focused on the production of creative documentaries, but al-
ready "Iced Lemonade for Hong Li" inspired Arek Gielnik and Dietmar Ratsch to write a fea-
ture film script. In 2004 "Still Memories" (WT) formed the foundation for the production of
feature films. In the same year Arek Gielnik participated in the leading training and project
development programme for European and international audiovisual producers (EAVE)
with this project. Since then INDI FILM developed various feature film scripts, among
others the children's film "Nelly's Abenteuer" by Jens Becker.
INDI FILM was set up in Ludwigsburg, due to our relations to talented professio-
nals from the Baden-WOrttemberg Film Academy, the TV-Broadcaster SOdwes-
trundfunk (SWR) and the MFG Film Funding Baden-WOrttemberg. From scratch
INDI FILM produced six creative documentaries for the TV-slot "Junger Dokumen-
tarfilm" for the SWR. Furthermore INDI FILM cooperates for several years with
broadcasters like ARD, ZDF, RBB, WDR, 3SAT, ARTE and ORF. Several productions
have been released in cinemas before their broadcast and were awarded at natio-
nal and international film festivals. For example:
BASTION OF SIN
by Thomas Lauterbach, Festivals: et al. BaKaFORUM Basel - SRG SSR idee Suisse
Prize 2009, Prix Europe 2009 - Special Citation, DOK Leipzig - Golden Dove 2008,
Funding Prize of the Baden-WOrttemberg Film Industry
INDI FILM is a member of the German Producers Alliance - Film & Television.
FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION)
IN DEVELOPMENT
nHABIBI RHAPSODr
by Michael Baumann & Sabine Westermaier, feature film 90 min.
nANTHONY'' (WT)
by Daniel Oliver Bachmann, feature film 90 min.
IN PRODUCTION
nBEING KOSHERn
by Ruth Olshan, documentary 52 min., a production of atmosfilm West, in copro-
duction with INDI FILM and SWR/ARTE, supported by Film Foundation NRW
FINISHED
nNEUKOLLN UNUMITEDn
by Agostino Imondi & Dietmar Ratsch, documentary 90/52 min ., 2010, In copro-
duction with noirfilm and RBB/ARTE, supported by MEDIA 2007 Development
Fund, Film Funding Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg, German Federal Film Board,
German Federal Film Fund
nDER DRACHENn
Director: Sawat Ghaleb, Shortfilm, 36 min., iraki-german Co-Production
nBASTION OF SINn
Director: Thomas Lauterbach, Documentary, 79 min. SWR, Internationales
Leipziger Festival fOr Dokumentar- und Animationsfilm 2008 - Golden Dove in the
German Competition, Kassel Documentary- and Videofest 2008, FilmZ Mainz
2008, Vision du Reel 2009, Canadian International Documentary Festival Hot Docs
2009, 19. Filmkunstfest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2009/ Competition, 31st
Moscow International Film Festival 2009
nDIE VATERSUCHERINH
Director: Sandra Lohr, Documentary, 40 min., HOV, Co-Production with Nikolaus
Geyrhalter Filmproduction, ORF, BBC, ZDF/ Arte
nRJCHTER: LEBENSLANGLJCHH
Director: Dietmar Ratsch, Dokumentarfilm, DVCam/Movie Tube, 90min, SWR/ARD
UTHE UNWANTEDH
Director: Sarah Moll, Documentary, DVCam, 60min, in Cooperation with the
Filmakademie Baden-WOrttemberg und dem SWR, Internationales Leipziger
Festival 2005, Filmfestival Turkey/ Germany 2006 - bngoren Award for Democracy
and Human Rights, NOrnberg, Refugee Film Festival Tokyo, Sao Paulo Int. Film
Festival, international perspective
nLANDUEBE"
Director: Dietmar Ratsch, Documentary, DVCam/Super16, 90min, SWR
"Prix du public et des habitants" at the 8. Festival "Camera des Champs" Mai 2006
nMAISON DE FRANCEH
Director: Stefan Suchalla, Documentary, Digi-Beta, 60min, SWR, Produktion :
Eiken SOdwest in Cooperation with INDI FILM, Deutscher Fernsehpreis 2004
( Forderpreis)
r!llIID DDrmn
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