Synopsis
“House or boat“? This was the question Kurt Schultz asked his family of 6 in 1957.
After successfully escaping from the GDR, the family lives on 50 square metres in an allotment garden association on Billerhuder Insel, in Hamburg.
Kurt Schultz gets his way. Despite the cramped conditions, he decided to build a boat. The choice for the realisation of a dream, and against a secure standard of living.
The 10-metre-long yacht made of steel is built with improvised means over years of personal la-bour. But not everyone is happy with this decision.
Synopsis
“House or boat?” This was the question Kurt Schultz asked his family of 6 in 1957.
After successfully escaping from the GDR, the family lives on 50 square metres in an allotment garden association on Billerhuder Insel, in Hamburg.
Kurt Schultz gets his way. Despite the cramped conditions, he decided to build a boat. The choice for the realisation of a dream, and against a secure standard of living.
The 10-metre-long yacht made of steel is built with improvised means over years of personal la-bour. But not everyone is happy with this decision.
The Story Behind
In 2011, Friederike Schultz visited me with a huge box full of her grandfather’s photo albums. “You have to make a film about my grandfather!”
Why? Because it’s a perfectly documented history of Hamburg and post-war Germany.
The film was then made single-handedly, so to speak, mainly in the editing room over a period of 6 months: photos were scanned, films digitised. At some point, underwater shots were even taken with the DoP Stefan Lindenau.
A great source of inspiration was the music. Composer Nathan Steinhagen composed the original score. Then the Hamburg Submarine Orchestra improvised for the film. The result was a film that is 100% Hamburg. About a Hamburger, Hamburger history, and realised by a team from Hamburg.
The Story Behind
In 2011, Friederike Schultz visited me with a huge box full of her grandfather’s photo albums. “You have to make a film about my grandfather!”
Why? Because it’s a perfectly documented history of Hamburg and post-war Germany.
The film was then made single-handedly, so to speak, mainly in the editing room over a period of 6 months: photos were scanned, films digitised. At some point, underwater shots were even taken with the DoP Stefan Lindenau.
A great source of inspiration was the music. Composer Nathan Steinhagen composed the original score. Then the Hamburg Submarine Orchestra improvised for the film. The result was a film that is 100% Hamburg. About a Hamburger, Hamburger history, and realised by a team from Hamburg.
Director’s Motivation
I looked at hundreds of old photo albums and Super 8 films and was fascinated. In all the pictures, I felt a longing for freedom. Not just a briefly captured mood, but a life creed.
The question fascinated me: “House or boat?”.
“Boat” is the symbol of a free self-determined life, and “house,” the symbol for an established se-cured life, not self-determined and full of compromises.
Mr Schultz has chosen to live his dream. I see him as both an idealist and an egoist. The family had to suffer: the eldest daughter had to move out because there was no more room in the house, and the mother suffered because of their modest circumstances.
I sometimes ask myself the same question. Putting a lot of work into an unprofitable film, partly in-volving the whole family, seems similar to me. Should I live my dream (without a lot of money) or rather compromise and offer my family a comfortable life?
Frank Müller
Director’s Motivation
I looked at hundreds of old photo albums and Super 8 films and was fascinated. In all the pictures, I felt a longing for freedom. Not just a briefly captured mood, but a life creed.
The question fascinated me: “House or boat?”.
“Boat” is the symbol of a free self-determined life, and “house,” the symbol for an established se-cured life, not self-determined and full of compromises.
Mr Schultz has chosen to live his dream. I see him as both an idealist and an egoist. The family had to suffer: the eldest daughter had to move out because there was no more room in the house, and the mother suffered because of their modest circumstances.
I sometimes ask myself the same question. Putting a lot of work into an unprofitable film, partly in-volving the whole family, seems similar to me. Should I live my dream (without a lot of money) or rather compromise and offer my family a comfortable life?
Frank Müller
Frank Müller
Frank Müller is a passionate filmmaker.
In the 1990s he studied film directing in Moscow and made award-winning shorts and documen-taries. At the beginning of the 2000s he moved to Hamburg and together with Kerstin Reich founded the Doppelplusultra Film and TV Production.
Frank Müller was a participant in several international documentary film workshops and pitches, such as the Ex Oriente Workshop and Eurodoc.
In addition to his work as producer and managing director of Doppelplusultra, Frank Müller works as a freelance Avid editor, director and author.
Frank Müller
Frank Müller is a passionate filmmaker.
In the 1990s he studied film directing in Moscow and made award-winning shorts and documen-taries. At the beginning of the 2000s he moved to Hamburg and together with Kerstin Reich founded the Doppelplusultra Film and TV Production.
Frank Müller was a participant in several international documentary film workshops and pitches, such as the Ex Oriente Workshop and Eurodoc.
In addition to his work as producer and managing director of Doppelplusultra, Frank Müller works as a freelance Avid editor, director and author.
Credits
Written and Directed by
Frank Müller
DoP:
Stefan Lindenau
Frank Müller
Motion Design:
Michael Lübben
Frank Müller
Sound:
Fabian Neun
Sound Mixing:
Pierre Brand
Music:
Nathan Steinhagen
U-Boot Orchester
Production:
Kerstin Reich
Funded by Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein
Credits
Written and Directed by
Frank Müller
DoP:
Stefan Lindenau
Frank Müller
Motion Design:
Michael Lübben
Frank Müller
Sound:
Fabian Neun
Sound Mixing:
Pierre Brand
Music:
Nathan Steinhagen
U-Boot Orchester
Production:
Kerstin Reich
Funded by Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein
Festivals
2012 Videofilmtage Koblenz / Germany
2012 Diessener Kurzfilmfestival / Germany
2012 Interfilm Berlin / Germany
2013 International Shortfilmfestival, Kiev / Ukrain
2013 Salon de la Luc, Bogota / Colombia
2013 La Guarimba Amantea / Italy
2013 Kunstgriffrolle Heide / Germany
2013 Vagrant Filmfestival, Minsk / Belarus
2013 Ko & Digital Film Festival, Barcelona / Spain
2013 Schwenninger Kurzfilmfestival / Germany
2013 European Filmfestival Göttingen / Germany
2013 Goiamum Audiovisual Festival / Brasil
2013 Nile’s Diaspora International Filmfestival Kampala / Uganda
2014 Festival internacional de Cine de Lebu Cañete / Chile
2014 Festimatge – Festival de la imatgo de Calella / Spain
2014 Feria Internacional de Cine de Manizales / Colombia
2014 Festival de Tanger / Marocco
2014 Daroca & Prison Filmfestival / Spain
2014 Cinespacio Cali / Columbia
2014 XI Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes / Peru
2014 Certamen Internacional de Cortometrajes Roberto Di Chiara / Argentina
Awards
Special mention at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck / Germany
Innovation award from the Lord Mayor at the video film days in Koblenz / Germany
Premio a miglior Montaggio at the La Guarimba Film Festival in Amantea / Italy
3rd Audience award on the artistic handle roll in Heide / Germany
3rd Premio CATEGORIA MEDIO DOCUMENTAL Certamen Internacional de Cortometrajes Ro-berto Di Chiara / Argentina
Festivals
2012 Videofilmtage Koblenz / Germany
2012 Diessener Kurzfilmfestival / Germany
2012 Interfilm Berlin / Germany
2013 International Shortfilmfestival, Kiev / Ukrain
2013 Salon de la Luc, Bogota / Colombia
2013 La Guarimba Amantea / Italy
2013 Kunstgriffrolle Heide / Germany
2013 Vagrant Filmfestival, Minsk / Belarus
2013 Ko & Digital Film Festival, Barcelona / Spain
2013 Schwenninger Kurzfilmfestival / Germany
2013 European Filmfestival Göttingen / Germany
2013 Goiamum Audiovisual Festival / Brasil
2013 Nile’s Diaspora International Filmfestival Kampala / Uganda
2014 Festival internacional de Cine de Lebu Cañete / Chile
2014 Festimatge – Festival de la imatgo de Calella / Spain
2014 Feria Internacional de Cine de Manizales / Colombia
2014 Festival de Tanger / Marocco
2014 Daroca & Prison Filmfestival / Spain
2014 Cinespacio Cali / Columbia
2014 XI Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes / Peru
2014 Certamen Internacional de Cortometrajes Roberto Di Chiara / Argentina
Awards
Special mention at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck / Germany
Innovation award from the Lord Mayor at the video film days in Koblenz / Germany
Premio a miglior Montaggio at the La Guarimba Film Festival in Amantea / Italy
3rd Audience award on the artistic handle roll in Heide / Germany
3rd Premio CATEGORIA MEDIO DOCUMENTAL Certamen Internacional de Cortometrajes Ro-berto Di Chiara / Argentina
