When he directs, the actors have to improvise. This is also the case in the multi-part series “The Funeral”, in which a family tears itself to pieces with relish. in the star-Interview tells Jan Georg Schütte how he came to this way of working – and why he doesn’t want to work any other way.
He has already received two Grimme awards, most recently in 2021 for his miniseries “Forever Summer 90”: Director Jan Georg Schütte has made improvised play his trademark and combines this with clever plots in which spontaneity and construction are balanced. In his new work, the six-part “The Funeral” (from Tuesday, 10:50 p.m. in the first), we witness how old conflicts break out at the funeral of the patriarch and life lies burst. A furious family series between East and West with Charly Hübner, Devid Striesow, Claudia Michelsen, Anja Kling and numerous other well-known actors.
Mr. Schütte, are you bored when you find a fully formulated screenplay while shooting?
As a director, I would panic because I wouldn’t know how to bring the script to life. I have the feeling that so much paper is crackling on German television. Rarely is it possible to make truly living television where you feel like the dialogue is all happening in the moment.
Why is that?
Certainly not the authors, I know some very good ones who can write lively dialogues. I think it’s a combination of writing and directing work and editors who iron over it too often. It’s supposed to be too clean. And everything has to be understandable so that the viewer is not overwhelmed.
Is that different in other countries?
I’m watching an English series right now, there’s a scene with five children and their parents that lasts eight minutes. Everyone is talking at once. It is wonderful. You still get what’s going on.
Shooting with improvised dialogues has become your trademark. How did that happen?
I never really wanted to be a filmmaker. I was an actor and got into it by accident because I wanted to write a screenplay myself. But I’ve found that it’s really weak. That’s why I just wrote a template and had it improvised. Then I realized: This isn’t a script, it’s a real film. This is how “Swinger Club” came about, my first directorial work. After that I just kept going and I see no reason to change that.
They don’t do without a screenplay entirely, however. On the contrary: your plots seem very well constructed. Is the relationship between improvisation and construction renegotiated in every film, in every series?
“The Funeral” is a mixture of wild anarchy like “Class Reunion” and a scripted plot like “Forever Summer 90”. We had over 50 cameras. We also repeated some scenes two or three times – but the camera kept rolling during this time.
The cameras were running all the time?
Yes, they were turned on in the morning and turned off at 6 p.m.
How many days of shooting did it take you?
We only had two days for “The Funeral”. The first day was this madness with the 50 cameras, on the second day we shot the small scenes around it.
What role do the actors play in the development of your characters?
That is very different. In the basics, the characters come from us. Then there are very intensive discussions with the actors and before we start shooting, we gave each actor a 40-page booklet.
Can you do your way of working with all actors, or are there some that work better with a pre-formulated text?
There will definitely be, these actors also cancel me. Not everyone understands how much preparation the spontaneous requires. The actors who have done it before – Anja Kling, Devid Striesow or Charly Hübner – benefit greatly from the fact that they read the booklet very carefully. Others think: Oh, that’ll work, I’ll just see what happens. They sometimes get bogged down.
You particularly like to work with some actors, for example Charly Hübner. What distinguishes him?
risk-taking and imagination. Many actors seek perfection. Charly seeks to immerse himself in a character – he doesn’t care if it looks stupid or if something slips. That is what distinguishes him.
Could you shoot anywhere, or do you have to match the tone of the people?
The North German mentality of the people at Lassahner See in Mecklenburg, where “The Funeral” is set, is of course very close to me because I’m a North German myself. The people of Mecklenburg and East Frisians have something in common. But it was also important to me: anyone who plays a GDR citizen is also one.
Her themes are often problems in interpersonal relationships, especially marriages and families. Where does the interest come from – and the ability to look so closely at these topics?
I’ve always been interested in psychology. My father was a pharmacist, but would have much preferred to have become a doctor or psychologist. Maybe I’m living out a bit of his unlived dream. My parents later trained as marriage and youth counselors. That’s why we always talked a lot about interpersonal issues at home.
In your series “Kranitz” you recently played a therapist yourself. How did you acquire the vocabulary?
I’m very affine with psychology myself. I have experience in therapy myself, I also did some constellation work. The systemic has always interested me: How do groups work? Who takes on which role? What happens when you take someone out of the group? This is useful for my directing work.
Are there any actors you’ve always wanted to work with that you haven’t gotten yet?
Nora Tschirner. I’ve asked her four times so far, and she’s always declined. She can’t get around the fact that I keep asking her.
You already have several new projects in the pipeline. You have the impression that ideas never run dry. Is that sometimes a burden?
It really is a plague. I have new ideas very quickly. The bad thing is that I always have to do it. That’s why I’m now reining myself in a bit so that I don’t always throw out the ideas right away.
The six-part “Begräbnis” starts on January 25 with a double episode at 10:50 p.m. on ARD. Further episodes each Tuesday in the late evening. All episodes are already available in the ARD media library