production design beatrice schultz

die vermissten / reported missing feature film, 86 min. (35mm & digital)

written and directed by jan speckenbach

cinematographer jenny lou ziegel

produced by junifilm

world premiere berlinale film festival, section: perspective german cinema, 2012

award nominations german film award, european film award

personal note

together with a location scout we searched and selected the various places where the movie happens.
because of the way the film was funded, we had to film in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Berlin. the challenge was to synchronize the landscapes visually.

i had to create and build three main filmsets:

the first was a forest hut and pigeon loft, which we had to fabricate on a forest glade in brandenburg. in preparation i produced a 1:50 model.

the second film set was the apartment of the ex-wife of our protagonist.

the third location proved to be the greatest challenge due to a very limited budget.
we filmed the final scene in an abandoned village that was destined to be demolished for a mining enterprise.
at the main location we had to change the outside colours of the building.
inside that house a wall at a staircase had to be freed from very rough plaster in order to be wallpapered and patinated. then we attached various wallpaper in several layers to create an impression of the house's history. finally we furnished it's rooms.
in an outside scene we equipped about a 100 children with suitcases, trolleys, buggys, bicycles, blankets, bags, etc.. some of the kids were sitting on sofas, tables, chairs and - you name it.
all this efford was only possible due to a wonderful and committed art department.

stills

trailer

poster