Collien Ulmen-Fernandes is the first permanent crew member with a migration background in the ZDF series “Das Traumschiff”. There are new episodes to see with her at Christmas and New Years.
“Das Traumschiff” is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and it was just as long before the first permanent crew member with a migration background came on board: Collien Ulmen-Fernandes has been the ship’s doctor Jessica Delgado since the beginning of the year. On December 26th and January 1st there are new “Traumschiff” episodes, then she can be seen again in this role. A conversation about German idiosyncrasies, racism – and the magic of the dream ship.
“Das Traumschiff” is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Did you watch this as a child?
No, but I hear from all sorts of people that they have been watching this all their lives, that it is a tradition to see the dream ship together with the family on Christmas and New Years. I kept getting stuck later. They do that very cleverly in the cold season, when everyone has wanderlust and the dream ship docks on the most beautiful beaches. Between the years everyone is sentimental and these beautiful stories come in handy. I think that’s one of the reasons why “Das Traumschiff” has been so successful for so many years.
It is considered typically German – what do you think is typically German about it, or is that not the case?
I think the look has something American about it. The make-up artist usually only does Hollywood productions, everything is prepared and staged a little more beautiful than in reality. It reminds me a lot of American rom-coms, where everyone is still a little more dressed up and it is clear from the start who is going to meet whom. But it’s probably typically German that you stick to watching it every year.
You have been the ship’s doctor since this year, making you the first permanent crew member with a migrant background in the “Traumschiff” after 40 years. Her mother is German-Hungarian, the father comes from India and has Portuguese roots. How has that shaped you in your everyday life?
I recently talked to my parents about it, as part of a documentary, and realized that I wasn’t really aware of the Hungarian influence. Especially when it comes to food. For example, we always had pancakes or filled peppers, both typically Hungarian. But in my childhood, Indian simply outshone everything because India is so colorful and so loud. I remember saris and Indian weddings a lot more than Hungarian.
Did you spend a lot of time in India during your childhood?
Yes very much. Before I started school, we were in India for several months every year, my parents still have an apartment there. As an adult in India, however, it was only then that I realized how German I was. In hotels, for example, the tiles are crooked and crooked – that would never happen here. Or if the bus just doesn’t come, everything is much slower. That’s when I noticed that I prefer this German, precise and structured way.
In the aforementioned ZDF documentary “Was ist Deutsch?” also said that the origin of your parents never really bothered you. Why was that like that?
Perhaps because it was not discussed in that way by those around me. Sure, it bothered me that I was a little darker, the subject of skin color was present for me as a child.
In what way?
I remember seeing a photo of myself on summer vacation and feeling that I was way too dark. After that, I didn’t go straight into the sun for years. My goal was for my entire hand to get the same color as the palms of my hands. That was the case at some point. I think that had something to do with the lack of role models. Back then I only ever saw blonde women on television. The same thing in every film: In the end, the man always got together with a blonde woman and for me that was the ideal of beauty at the time. Maybe it would have been different if a darker woman had played the love interest. That is why I think it is so important that diversity is presented in the media.
You once said that during a cover shoot you were told that you couldn’t be put on the cover picture by yourself, two blonde women would have to be included. Have you had a lot of such racist experiences?
So that with the TV magazines is really a phenomenon, if you pay attention to it: Almost all of them have a blonde woman against a blue background on the cover! And if you then ask: Germans like that best. Probably it’s habit or the Germans really don’t like the foreign, I don’t know. I also negotiated a fixed contract and shooting days with a person in charge of the broadcaster and he said that I could play the leading role as my best friend. When I asked why the main role was out of the question, it was said: ‘We can’t do that because of our migration background!’ I was really shocked and that kept me busy for a long time.
Is that changing?
I have the feeling that something is happening right now. I think it’s important to speak about it publicly, to focus on it so that those who handle it can no longer get away with it.
With the “dream ship” there is always a shore leave, where the audience gets to know the respective country, often very stereotypically. Did you ever have concerns that it was becoming too clichéd?
No. Part of the new concept is that you also deal with the negative sides of a country, for example there was a film about apartheid in Africa, then there was an episode with Dirk Steffens that dealt with the subject of coral death. So it is no longer just an ideal world.
What about women and equality: In the past, the captain always had to save everything at the last second. In your opinion, has “Das Traumschiff” developed further?
Totally. I said from the start that as a doctor I wanted to save the captain, but some men didn’t think that was so good. This time, however, a writer wrote the script and she had the same idea as me – that will now be featured in the Christmas episode. I’m really happy that it’s the other way around.
The conditions for the “dream ship” shoot are legendary because you are really on a journey. How was the shooting?
It was even more beautiful than you imagined. I arrived in the Maldives, had a bungalow with its own infinity pool and just thought: Seriously? Everyone is incredibly nice on the dream ship, that’s also part of the secret of success. People don’t talk badly about each other. It is really an ideal world there. You always have someone to talk to, everyone has dinner together, the family feeling is very much upheld. When someone has a birthday, everyone goes and celebrates the birthday child together, no matter how tired you are. This cohesion is probably also transmitted through the camera. In the end everyone is always crying in each other’s arms and nobody wants to leave this ship.
Where would you like to go next with the dream ship?
An episode in India would be amazing. I would then also like to tackle a more serious topic: hydrochloric acid attacks. Unfortunately, these are very widespread in India, especially when women split up. The hydrochloric acid is very cheap there and unfortunately it happens very often that men disfigure women after being rejected.
They can also be seen with a documentary about the ten commandments on Christmas on ZDF. What is it about?
It is an exciting journey through the ten commandments and the current moral concept of the Germans. What I find interesting is that the ZDF commissioned a Forsa survey in which the importance of the individual bids was asked. “You shouldn’t commit adultery” was not particularly well received, only 54 percent of men thought it was important. Terrifying.
And which command is typically German?
The German command would probably be: You should be on time! This is particularly true in direct comparison with India. My parents both always take that as an excuse and like to be an hour late when we have an appointment. They both then say: “We are Indians!”, Although my mother has no Indian roots at all.