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DER DEUTSCHE KINDERWUNSCH? (2017)

THE GERMAN DESIRE FOR HAVING CHILDREN?

social spot

director/script: Merle Grimme camera: Felix Pflieger & Thomas Spitschka editing: Merle Grimme interviews: Merle Grimme & Felizitas Hoffmann research: Felizitas Hoffmann sound: Michael Prechtl/Rabelle Erian producer: Salome Tomasek production: wirFILM Bertolone & Ehlayil GbR & University of Television and Film Munich (HFF Munich)

Everyone wants children. And once you have children, everything will work out OK. A promise that is not always fulfilled and not for every woman. The film addresses the questions: Why does a woman (not) want children? What effect does it have on her and on her role in society?

Produced for the Short Film Competition of ZEIT Legacy Study

Sponsored by: Federal Foreign Office

In cooperation with: DFA Production - The German Film Academy, infas and WZB

Awards:

Jury Award - ZEIT Vermächtnisstudie, sponsored by Federal Foreign Office

TAKING TIME (orig. MAL ZEIT) 2015

short documentary film, 16mm

director/script: Merle Grimme camera: Felix Pflieger editing: Merle Grimme sound: Charlotte Funke music/sounddesign: ISOLA MUSIC excecutive producer: Marie Freund & Nicolai Fitzgerald production: University of Television and Film Munich (HFF München)

The separation of work and rest periods is getting lost in our society. It's all about efficient schedules. The world of food has been adapted by the principle of efficiency: On every corner waits something for you that you can eat to go. In a capitalist world, food is reduced to a simple source of energy, without spending too much time with it.

The documenatary "MAL ZEIT" observes the capitalization of food, the hectic way of eating and the resulting loneliness through calm and quiet tableaus.  

100 YEARS OF ARRI (2016)

concept & compilation: Henning Rädlein producer: Nicolai Fitzgerald, Henning Rädlein, A-Ran Bang, Natasza Chrosicki, Kathy Chung, Forest Liu, An Tran editors: Merle Grimme, Aleksej Berkovic RGC, Gregg Bishop, Leslie Eckert, Thomas Erichsen, Christoph Hutterer, Sophie Kill, Zenon Kristen, Florian Leitl, Pierre Martinet, Nathan Morris, Adee Ng, Margret Run, Petra Scherer, Frank Schönfelder, David Scott Smith, Hikaru Suzuki, Bryan Tanori, Yuye Wang, Xepa Creative (HK) Ltd, Min-Jung YEO, Ze Yuan

production: ARRI

Editor for several interviews and short ad's for ARRI's 100th anniversary. (Gernot Roll, Rolf Steinmann, Chris Menges, Dr. Johannes Steurer, Marc Shipman-Mueller, Gerhard Fromm, etc.)

ZELLOPHAN - LE-THAN HO (2014)

music video

director: Christopher Aoun co-director: Merle Grimme camera: Christopher Aoun

NEUGIER / CURIOSITY (2013)

short film, fiction

director & screenwriter: Merle Grimme camera: Manuel Gehrke editor: Merle Grimme sound: Florian Brüggemann producer: Merle Grimme production: University of Hildesheim

cast: Isabel Schwenk

A young woman gets stuck in her one-night stand's apartment. Boredom leads her to experiment with the male gender. What is male? How does it feel to be a man? And can a woman pee while standing?

WARTEN AUF X / WAITING FOR X (2013)

short documentary film

director & camera & editor: Merle Grimme, Helena Eckert, Fanny Langner production: University of Hildesheim

The experiment: What happens if several artists of different art fields have to work on one piece of art without knowing or meeting each other? 

Festivals & Screenings & Publications:

Zeitzeug Festival 2014 | conference: Making-of in Hildesheim | Pubication: Making-of-Lexikon.de: making-of-lexikon.de/#text=warten-auf-x

HORTENSIEN HOTEL (2011)

short film, fiction, 16mm

director & screenwriter: Merle Grimme assistant director: Konstantin Bock camera: Thomas Tittel lighting designer: Marco Müller sound: Jana Stah, Alexej Ulinici editor: Lana Kloodt producer: Elena Parwan  production: University of Hildesheim

cast: Ireen Kirsch, Jonas Minthe

Most films end when a romantic relationship begins. Hortensien Hotel begins when the love ends.

DIGEL POWERST 2016

director/concept: Merle Grimme camera: Felix Pflieger camera assistant: Daniel Schäfer editor: Merle Grimme music/sounddesign: ISOLA MUSIC

production: INKcorporated & Merle Grimme

Windsor Spring/Sommer 2015

director/concept: Merle Grimme camera: Marco Müller assistant camera: René Zander editor: Konstantin Bock music/sounddesign: ISOLA MUSIC

production: INKcorporated & Merle Grimme

CLASHING DIFFERENES (2023)

feature film & miniseries

@clashingdifferences

#clashingdifferences

House of Womxn has a diversity problem. Or so the all-white board members have been told. Forced to take action with the threat of being removed from the International Women’s Conference, the board hires Paula — a lesbian with her own closely-held thoughts around privilege —to assemble the perfect mix of marginalized people to develop the organization’s all-inclusive manifesto.Among those enlisted include an Asian divorcee fighting for custody of her gender-neutral child, a Black woman tired of being taken advantage of, and a disabled immigrant. Forcing queer folks to cohabitate for a weekend for the sake of solidarity certainly has its pitfalls. As their different viewpoints on race, feminism, and other hot-button issues threaten to derail the entire weekend, they find themselves dealing with a much more dangerous threat.

At a time when many organizations seem to view diversity as checking the right boxes for show rather than genuinely being inclusive, filmmaker Merle Grimme’s Clashing Differences uses humor to take a frank look at nuanced, layered, and complex topics like labor exploitation, colorism, and intersectionality.

(written by program note writer Angelique Smith, Frameline Festival)

AWARDS:

BIG AUDIENCE AWARD – FIRST STEPS AWARD / German Film Academy

BEST SCREENPLAY - NEW GERMAN CINEMA @ 40th Int. Filmfest Munich

AUDIENCE AWARD – BEST FEATURE FILM @ Afrika Filmfest Köln

DON QUIJOTE PREIS – BESTER SPIELFILM @Queer Filmfest Weiterstadt

FESTIVALS:

Int. Filmfestival Munich, Germany

Raindance Film Festival, London, UK

Frameline Festival, San Francisco, California, USA

Outfest Festival, LA, California, USA

Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada

AGLIFF Austin’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Austin, Texas, USA

Newfest - The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival, NY, USA

Hamburg Int. Queer Film Festival, Hamburg, Germany

Pop Kultur Festival, Berlin, Germany

Out On Film Festival, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Oslo / Fusion Int. Film Festival, Oslo, Norway

Afrika Filmfest Köln, Köln, Germany

Int. Filmfest Braunschweig (Out of Competition), Braunschweig, Germany

AfryKamera, Warsaw, Poland

African Diaspora Int. Film Festival, NY, USA

Q-Fest University of Wisconsin, USA

Slovak Queer Film Festival, Bratislava, Slowakia

Freiburger Lesbenfilmtage, Freiburg, Germany 

NOMINATIONS:

Best Director (Merle Grimme), Best Screenplay (Merle Grimme), Best Production (Miriam Klein), Best Actor (Safak Sengül, Rabea Lüthi) – New German Cinema – 40th Munich Int. Film Festival, Germany

Best Debut Film – Bunte New Faces Award (Merle Grimme)

Best Feature Film for Television – Jupiter Award 

CAST

Rabea Lüthi – SUS

Thelma Buabeng – KISHA

Şafak Şengül – CENA

 Jane Chirwa – FLORA      

Minh-Khai Phan-Thi – SIMONE    

Lisa Hrdina – PAULA      

Christine Wilhelmi – HANNAH

GUESTS

Inka Friedrich,  Anna Stieblich, Eva Bay & Tucké Royale    

SUPPORTING CAST

Timm-Christian Schindel,  Bartholomäus Martin Kleppek, André Blüthmann

Screenwriter & Director & Producer Merle Grimme  Cinematographer Diara Sow  Editor Andi Pek  Music Jared Meier-Klodt  Johannes, Stegemann, Nima Sene  Costume Designer Ulé Barcelos, Dilara Ozkan Production Designer Stephanie Schober Art Director Bartholomäus Martin Kleppek  Hair & Make up Titi Amoako, Jenny Arlt, Layana Flachs  Casting Director Stephanie Maile  Casting (Online / Social Media) Brenda Geckil  Gaffer Janne Ebel  Sound Nic Nagel  Foleys & Sound Design Jonas Lechenmayr Kai Unger  Sound Mixer Woepf Lechenmayr  Line Producer Ann-Kristin Bardi  Unit Manager Philip Ostendorf, Kevin Nerlich  Concept for Anti-discriminatory and Inclusive Producing Merle Grimme Anti-discrimination Representative Patricia Redzewsky  Workshop „Rassismuskritisch denken lernen“ Tupoka Ogette, Stephen Lawson  Workshop „Critical Whiteness“ Jule Bönkost  Workshop for Empowerment & Embodiment Coach Pasquale Virginie Rotter  Adivsor on Inclusion und Accessibility Katharina Pape Specialist consulting Anti-discrimination clause Sonja Laaser, Nora Auerbach Consulting Diversity & Inclusion Diversity Arts Culture, Eylem Sengezeris, Cordula Kehr Script Consultant Hannes Oppermann  Director's Coach Nastaran Tajeri-Foumani  1st AD Mai Trang Nguyen  2nd AD Nima Sene  AD Postproduction Lorena Junghans  Script/Continuity Dessirie Böhnke, Kiara Fakhoury Accounting Ina Stahnsdorf-Novotny  Production Management ZDF Vanessa Manako, Catharina Treber Production Assistant Eylin Ammon Unit Manager Preproduction Monika Kowolik  Production Assistant Preproduction Emma Stiehm  Casting Assistant Rosa Mylord  On-Set Unit Manager & Titel Design Timm-Christian Schindel  On-Set Unit Management Assistant Ana Wybkea Gutschke  Set-Runner Emilia Paloma Happi  Driver Nora Lüders, Salomon Appiah, Marcel Singer  Steadycam-Operator Lasse Liebelt  B-Cam Rabea Lüthi  Assistant Camera Nadja Krüger  Data Wrangling  Greta Markurt, Antoinette Dyksman  Key Grip Michel Klares  Sound Assistant Fanny “Thera” Harisch, Magdalena Jacob. Costumer Sophia Schramm, Valentin Mici  Standby Props Aylin Englisch  Set Dresser Dirk Ehrhardt  Props Driver Bartosz „Pinky“ Jedras  Production Design Intern Wilke Donker, Jan Michalsky  Helping Hand Production Design Heike van Benthum Set Graphic Designer Anna Kawka  Additional Hair & Makeup Daniela Berner, Marie-Luise Adler, Eleonore Ising  Best Boy Arne Weiss  Lightning Technician  Jenny Röders, Aurelia Langhanke, Regina Wiebe, Elisa Daniel, Daryna Snizhko Catering Patrick Degbe, Alexander Kipke, Kay Rachui  Assistant Editor Cho de Koningh, Philip Bell  Sound Editor Fidi Franek  ADR Recordist Jan Meyerdierks  ADR Inhouse Producing Johannes Weiht Music-Supervision Klaus Frers, Barbara S. Weber  Imaging Supervisor Kenneth Hecker-Stiller  Project Manager Imaging Katharina Deltow  Technical Supervisor Imaging Patrick Heck  Color Grading Jeffrey Yaworski  DI & Conforming Engineer Jasper Brandt. Mastering Engineer Kay Schuchert, Tobias Weber  VFX Philip Nauck  Making Of Spill the Ts Collective & Team  Legal consulting RA Dr. Christopher Borgmann  ZDF Security Manager Frank Heider   Security Team Coordinator René Benz  Location Franziska & Thomas Machts  Sanitary, Water Tank, Generator André Blüthmann  Set Tent Oliver Michalsky  Equipment Camera, Lightning & Grip Ute Baron, Christian Fischer  Covid Testing Tobias Heinemann Captioning Blondah Fritaud  Insurance Marco Quast  Bank Anna Wolff  HFF Project Supervisor Prof. Karin Jurschick  HFF Project Counselor Nora Moschüring, Anna Brass, David Spaeth  HFF Line Producer Christine Haupt  HFF Assistant Line Poducer Stefanie Tölk  HFF Production Secretary Daniel Zitzer  HFF Accounting Margit Werb-Alraun Project Counselor Solmaz Sohrabi ARTE Editorial Ann-Sophie Müller, Stéphanie Maure  ZDF Editorial Lucia Haslauer  ZDF/ARTE Editorial Simon Ofenloch, Martin Gerhard  Producer Mimi Klein, Gabriela Sperl 

A a little. film production and sperl film + fernsehproduktion Production  Co-Production  ZDF Das Kleine Fernsehspiel in Cooperation with ARTE,  University of Television and Film Munich (HFF Munich)  

Funded by FilmFernsehFonds Bayern und Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

REGRETTING MOTHERHOOD (2017)

short documentary essay film

director/script: Merle Grimme & Felizitas Hoffmann camera: Felix Pflieger & Thomas Spitschka editing: Andreas Baltschun sound: Michael Prechtl/Rabelle Erian excecutive producer: Marie Freund/Julian Anselmino

production: DREIFILM & University of Television and Film Munich (HFF Munich)

As in many countries, motherhood is something sacred to the German people. This makes it almost impossible to question the status quo, for women to speak openly and honestly about what it means to be a mother. In 2015 a conversation opened up throughout the country, about 'Regretting Motherhood'. This is the first documentary approaching this important debate, giving women a platform to talk freely and anonymously about their feelings and experiences.

Festivals/Screenings/Talks: creativ laboratory-fem:power Oldenburg 2018 |Göttingen Centre for Genderstudies (GCC) 2018 |dortmunder tresen festival 2018| University of Hildesheim "What We Mean By Feminism" 2018 |bi'bakino Bi'bak 2017|Filmschool Fest Munich 2017 |24th Etiuda&Anima 2017 |Kraków (Poland) |10th filmzeitkaufbeuren 2017 | |11th Fünf Seen Festival 2017 |23rd International Short Film Week Regensburg 2017 | Berlinale Empfang der Filmhochschulen - Pitch 2016

Nominations: DOK.fest - DOK.forum - marketplace 2017 | Projects Young

Filmmakers Award 2016 | Das Goldene Glühwürmchen – Int. Fünf Seen Filmfestival

IM FILMDING DRIN / INTO FILMMAKING (2014)

short documentary

director/script: Merle Grimme editor: Merle Grimme camera: Thomas Tittel, Daniel Menzel, Merle Grimme production: University of Hildesheim

cast: Timm-Christian Schindel, Daniel Menzel, Thomas Tittel, Loifor (band)

A young filmmaker's struggel to get into the film business without film school. Will he ever be independent or will he get stuck in producing ad's and music videos to pay his rent?

FESTIVAL TV - INTERVIEW WITH DOMINIK GRAF (2015)

Filmfest München

director: Merle Grimme interview: Merle Grimme camera: Felix Pflieger, Moritz Tessendorf editor: Merle Grimme sound: Mila Zhluktenko production: Filmfest München & University of Television and Film Munich

guest: Dominik Graf

SPANISCHES FILMFEST BERLIN  (2012)

Trailer

director: Timm-Christian Schindel 1st assistant director: Merle Grimme camera: Thomas Tittel original music & sound design: Stefan Troschka art direcor: Daniel Menzel editor: Timm-Christian Schindel production: Lauflicht FILM

cast: Daniel Brühl, Ronan Favereau Berthelo

SCHALLSTÖRUNG / SONIC DISORDER (2010)

short film, fiction

director: Markus Beck 1st assistant director: Merle Grimme screenwriter: Timm-Christian Schindel camera: Thomas Tittel sound: Ray Böge music by: Michael Reben gaffer: Timo Becker unit manager: Knut Jäger editor: Sascha Zimmermann production: GRANARTE FILM / Doingdamage & Lauflicht FILM

cast: Pheline Roggan, Klaus Ebert, Gabriele Erler, Kalle Haverland, Oliver Sauer

Festivals:

shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival

DIGEL Spring/Summer 2016

director/concept: Merle Grimme camera: Adrian Campean editor: Merle Grimme music/sounddesign: Isola Music

production: INKcorporated & Merle Grimme

Windsor Fall/Winter 2015

director/concept: Merle Grimme camera: Merle Grimme camera assistant: Adrian von der Borch editor: Konstantin Bock music/sounddesign: Isola Music

production: INKcorporated & Merle Grimme

s.Oliver 2014

video invitation

director/concept: Merle Grimme camera: Christopher Aoun steadicam operator: Peter Schmehl assistant camera/focus puller: Marco Müller editor: Konstantin Bock music/sounddesign: ISOLA MUSIC

production:  222 NYC LLC (New York)

DIGEL MOVE Spring/Summer 2016

director/concept: Merle Grimme camera: Felix Pflieger editor: Merle Grimme music/sounddesign: Isola Music

production: INKcorporated & Merle Grimme