On the set of “Der Buchspazierer und die Liebe” in Novacella

I already shot the film “Die Pfefferkörner” here ten years ago and had a great experience. At that time, we were able to capture excellent shots—in the mountains with dreamlike weather and in the most beautiful areas of South Tyrol. I was already fascinated by it back then, and it is still the case. You can see that South Tyrol, especially the Dolomites, is simply a magnet. It is a heritage that must naturally be handled carefully and thoughtfully so that it can continue to exist. With our story, we are following in the footsteps of Goethe and want to make his famous stage of travel to Italy—through South Tyrol to Verona—understandable. That is why South Tyrol plays a role in part of the film.

Sometimes repetitions are important to bring the audience back to the moments and the atmosphere they have already seen or experienced. Besides that, the story thrives on many new things and aspects. There will be a lot of new elements. We will see new things, such as the journey through South Tyrol. We also know that every image we shoot here will benefit the film because we have never seen this type of imagery in the first “Buchspazierer.”

The relationship developed so brilliantly between me and Christoph getting to know each other on the film, that we complement each other almost symbiotically, and each of us uses our own strengths. I clearly come from the visual field, he comes from language and literature. He is much more experienced than I am there, for example. He has internalized this role of the “Buchspazierer” very strongly; I only have to show him the way in pure film dramaturgy, the rest reveals itself subtly through our ideas. We throw ideas back and forth at each other during the rehearsals, starting with the reading table. When you are lucky enough to already have the perfect cast, everything that follows is pure joy. Yes, our collaboration is honestly a joy every day. It works so well that one could easily imagine doing even more of it, perhaps even a next chapter.

In the beginning, there was the content idea that we wanted to bring the Buchspazierer on Goethe's journey to Italy, and that happens to start in South Tyrol. That's why we knew that if we filmed here, it would be the best way. And then, of course, there are other good prerequisites like funding and many filmmakers. Also, logistical proximity. So, we spoke with the production company, Albolina, and the content, financial, and production aspects came together.

When the first part is successful, you always think, now we have to make a second part. The first story was very self-contained. Therefore, it was about developing a new story, and that is where the novelist Carsten Henn and the screenwriter Andi Rogenhagen had the joint idea that it could be about love.

It is the unusual friendship between the Buchspazierer and Schascha, the young girl, across the generations. Then comes the love that they both experience—but the reflection is always the two of them and their friendship. It is a story that works by itself, a new and very unique story. The tonality also changes; we have become a bit more mature. Nevertheless, many typical and beloved elements that the first part provided are also served. Another challenge was to adjust the timing: the novel comes out in the spring, the film in the autumn; the novelist co-writes the screenplay and then writes his novel, and at the same time, the film production is running.