Competitors such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have already done so, and now Disney + follows: the streaming service now presents original series from Germany. The prelude is dramatic and eloquent with “Sam – Ein Sachse”. Because inspired by real events, the series tells about Samuel Meffire, the first black police officer in the GDR – and about his complex fate in private and professional life.
MOVIE STARTS author Sidney Schering spoke to the directors who filmed this life at the beginning of the series: Solen Yusef And Sarah Blaskiwitz. In an interview they tell how close the format devised by Tyron Ricketts and Jörg Winger comes to the truth. It also included lessons from the Inglourious Basterds set and a door that the hit film Rheingold may have opened…
Sarah Blasskiwitz: I had some insider knowledge – someone had told me about Samuel Meffire years ago, and I also know someone who even interacted with him because they went to the same disco as him. And then I had a longer conversation with Tyron Ricketts about Samuel before joining the show. Moreover, like Samuel, I grew up in the GDR, so I have, so to speak, first-hand historical experience.
Solen Yusef: I knew nothing, just like you – to my shame and yours. (laughs) In my defense, stories like this have been lost in this country for a long time. The narrative perspective about the GDR and about West Germany is simply different, whether in school or in the media. I came to Germany in 1996, so I may have missed this part of the review, but I don’t think that’s the only reason.
In another project, namely “Germany 89”, I dealt extensively with the GDR. However, I only really got to know the special story of Samuel as this unique roller coaster ride when I participated in this series. And she grabbed me right away! You don’t wish such a dramatic life on anyone, but all writers want to come up with such ideas to tell them.
Truth meets fiction
Solen Yusef: Definitely a bit of both. And I think that’s very fair of us, because no series can do a person 100 percent justice. I think we’ve done justice to Samuel’s soul, his journey and his struggle, while translating it into something universal that new generations can relate to.
Yet you could never really tell a full life story. Only the creative struggle to translate real life into a film or series is of influence. Like it or not, you’re making someone else’s story your own.
Sarah Blasskiwitz: And there can only be benefit in admitting that. It does no one any good to pretend to tell the whole truth. And estrangement is actually a good thing: it wouldn’t help anyone to delve into the farthest corners of Samuel’s feelings and thoughts: no one would understand, and it would only hurt Samuel. Fiction, on the other hand, makes his fate tangible, understandable and protects the real Sam.
Solen Yusef: One should not forget: it is also entertainment in the end if it becomes a series for a streamer. Whether you want to admit it or not. As a director, you naturally want to do justice to this person. You want to get closer to his core and translate the politically relevant aspects of his life – so that it resonates with what is politically relevant right now. Whether it’s to make a change or to bring attention to something.
Still, people like to be picked up – and if you do, hopefully you’ll move along more. That’s why this project appealed to me so much: we’re telling a story from the past, but in many ways it feels current. And we tell of a great political change, but from a perspective that has not been seen before.
Sarah Blasskiwitz: We’ve been thinking a lot…
Solen Yusef: So, so much…
Sarah Blasskiwitz: But in the end we went back to our original idea. And that was that we all benefit from having a series of consecutive episodes at a time. This allowed Soleen to concentrate on a coherent part of Samuel’s life during the preparation and performance, and so did I.
However, that doesn’t mean we’ve drawn a clear dividing line – we’ve always supported each other. We exchanged creative ideas about how we would tackle this or that scene. And we also practically helped each other and shot a few scenes for each other’s episodes.
Solen Yusef: Shooting isn’t always chronological and if something comes up you can’t change the whole schedule.
Sarah Blasskiwitz: That’s how I came unexpectedly on my first shooting day! My cameraman Max Preiss and I visited Soleen and Stephan on the set in Gera [Burchardt, Soleen Yusefs Kameramann; Anm. d. Redaktion]. Our start of the recordings was planned much later. But then the team had a Corona case – and we suddenly had to jump in at the deep end and take over a scene that happened to be part of my episode anyway and was therefore also prepared by me.
Will there be a biopic about Azad soon?
Solen Yusef: In each case! I really want to make a movie about Azad! I could sort of realize myself because he was on “Skylines.” Still, I don’t want to stop there, because Azad is an impressive personality. He is a very artistic and poetic fighter who has probably been through a lot – that would be a parallel to “Rheingold”, and yet there are major differences worth noting.
In general, I am fascinated by complex male characters who look very tough on the outside, but make ambivalent art and have a very fine streak, which breaks their own image of masculinity. Paradoxical personalities, therefore, with contradictions and outer and inner worlds that collide. I find that very interesting. What also appeals to me about Azad is the influence his mother had on him. Kurdish mothers of this generation are a very different kind of fighters.
Solen Yusef: Maybe, who knows… (laughs)
Sarah Blaskiwitz: What everyone learns from stunt work: Safety first! I also learned a lot about punctuality: in this industry “being on time” means being overly punctual – since then I’ve always been there at least ten minutes earlier than agreed.
And I was able to become aware of how much preparation and interpretation is needed to depict violence. The subject came up a lot while working on Sam: A Saxon. We thought about which photos to show and which to leave out. Where should it be tough, where would too much action and violence be a mistake? It was very important to me not to take these questions lightly, and that was certainly due to this experience. I think I have a soft spot for action. I don’t have to be a stuntwoman in this life – but I would like to be one in the next life.
Solen Yusef: I do not think so. There will not be a second season – it will remain a miniseries.