Nilam Farooq started her film career as the lead actress in “Heilstätten”, the most successful German horror film in what feels like forever! The final breakthrough came with ‘Contra’, which was not only a hit at the box office but also earned her and co-star Christoph Maria Herbst the coveted Ernst Lubisch Prize for best comedy performance in a German-language film. She also won 100,000 euros in “Schlag den Star” and her own puzzle book cover as “the smartest person in Germany” in “Wer Stealt mir die Show”.
This week she’s back in the horror genre – and she’s taking on a very special challenge: director Thomas Sieben and his team have the horror shocker”East West home is best“It was recorded in one take without cutting – everything just has to run smoothly for an hour and a half for something like this to work. We met the actress for an interview at Constantin Filmverleih’s office in Munich:
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: I don’t think it’s ever been that bad, but I’ve never felt so much pressure on any other project before. The day before the first shoot we had a kind of dress rehearsal – and that was the first time I played the whole thing through. And then of course I knew: well, now it largely depends on what I do – even if chance and luck are added to the mix. I really had a stomach ache.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: For me the one-shot was the deciding factor. I’ve never been offered anything like this before, and that’s obvious: there aren’t many of them around, after all. And yet: this special opportunity to carry the film for more than 90 minutes was the main reason to say: yes, I want to try that!
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: These things more or less go hand in hand. But I met Thomas first to talk about it. I couldn’t really imagine it at the time. I’ve read a few things on this topic beforehand, but as you go through the script you keep asking yourself how is it going to be implemented if you can’t edit it? I had Thomas explain all this to me – and of course the work between actors and director is completely different in a case like this: it takes place in the two weeks BEFORE filming – and once the actual session starts. But then the director stands in the background, then he puts everything in the hands of the camera and the actors.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: There was no such thing. The special thing was that we started at dusk and over the course of 90 minutes it became night – therefore we only had one attempt per day and we wouldn’t have been able to start again even if something had happened after 20 minutes. We always started at 7:00 PM and finished at 8:30 PM, but because we had already done a dry run in the morning, we were really exhausted. After the last second you give each other a quick hug and say ‘have a nice evening!’ and then you fall into bed exhausted.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: When we joined, the team had already done test shoots with acting students – simply to find out which gears really work and where and how the camera can track. And in my first week we actually only rehearsed technically. At first it had absolutely nothing to do with games. Instead, in addition to rehearsing the gears, it was about questions like: “Which light switch can I actually press and which is externally controlled?” – until we could do them Everyone packed up for the first time during the dress rehearsal.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: It’s great that you said that. I believe that it does something to you unconsciously, that it takes you differently on Mary’s journey. And then of course there are people who love films so much that they are interested in the way they are made and then appreciate that – there is a lot involved, you don’t just decide on a whole thing. in one go. I hope this is appreciated within the industry – and I’m always happy for audiences to just feel well entertained.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: You lose yourself completely. After the first 15 minutes I was in a trance – which I usually don’t have, because I’m not one of those actresses who completely disappear into their roles. Nevertheless, it was like being in a tunnel, I just went through it and replayed all the saved processes. I can’t really remember either – that’s why it would be hard for me to tell the three shots apart.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: Yes, there was that too. Later a car door slammed shut and the camera could no longer track me. At that point we had to stop after about an hour. We were able to salvage the cell phone misstep to some extent, but that was the end of it.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: It’s also amazing how we made it happen. But the ten minutes before that was just as bothering me as anything else! The whole time I was just thinking about it: “How do I save this? How can I save this? I can’t cancel! I can’t cancel!” But I was actually quite happy with my solution.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: No, I put the pressure on myself, I don’t take on a project like that and then fall back on plan B. That’s the great thing that I can now sit here and say that we really did a great job!
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: Running across the fields absolutely in the dark – with a very pregnant belly to boot. You can’t fall, but you also have to make sure that the cameraman stays with you the entire time. That was one of my most terrifying scenes – and then of course the finale, because there is also action and stunts in the last meters. I had a lot of respect then.
FILM START:
Nilam Farooq: Because every person mentioned in the credits put their heart, sweat, blood and love into it. Moreover, ‘Home Sweet Home’ is a project that requires real craftsmanship – from all parties involved.
“Home Sweet Home” is currently showing in German cinemas.
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