A film by men, for men,

about masculinity, male masculinity, new age masculinity, old school masculinity, the essence of being a man, the terrifying and terrified men, the lone wolf and the social being, the needs and wants of men, the joy and struggles of men, the highs and the lows of men, about the lost warrior, serving, yet unapologetic

A film by men,
for men,

about masculinity, male masculinity, new age masculinity, old school masculinity, the essence of being a man, the terrifying and terrified men, the lone wolf and the social being, the needs and wants of men, the joy and struggles of men, the highs and the lows of men, about the lost warrior, serving, yet unapologetic

Short

Synopsis

The dark comedy “Down there in Heaven” tells the story of six men who meet at a surprise party. The door closes behind them and they are locked in. A note left behind reveals that they are part of a therapeutic intervention and have to complete tasks before they can regain their freedom. Reluctantly, they surrender to their destiny and embark on a journey to explore their own selves. All six men gradually break down and reach the limits of their transparency.

Long

Synopsis

The dark comedy “Down there in Heaven” tells the story of six men who meet at a surprise party. They could not be more different in all aspects ranging from age to faith. Even though they’ve met before, none of them knows who organized the party, because each of their invitations was signed by a different name. The door closes behind them and they are locked in. How and if they come out again, remains a mystery.

A note left behind reveals that they are part of a therapeutic intervention and have to complete tasks before they can regain their freedom. The execution or denial of the tasks is monitored by a camera. Resistance seems pointless, and the search for each of their individual identity and position in the group but also in today’s society begins. Reluctantly, they surrender to their destiny and embark on a journey to explore their own selves.

The narrowness of the room and the variety of lifestyles, ranging from startup CEO to homeless, cause conflicts over and over again.

Above all, wide-ranging ideas of masculinity clash. Is a man a testosterone-driven monster or a slave to the national historical construct of masculinity?

All six men gradually break down and reach the limits of their transparency. But that is precisely what the intervention is set up for. The men have to completely open up to have a chance at freedom. The question of whether they find the courage remains open until the end.

Director’s Notes:

Felix Schaefer follows an ancient Indian philosophy that every story should accomplish 3 things: Educate the intellectuals, explain God, and most importantly entertain the drunk. The director also believes that film has the responsibility to be a mirror for society.

Journey

The filmmakers’ hero

Every beginning of a good story features a) a fool who will grow up to be a hero, and b) the established hero to look up to.

If Felix Schaefer is the fool, then Tini Tüllmann is his hero to look up to. Tüllmann casted Felix against all odds as the lead character in the critically acclaimed psychothriller “Freddy Eddy”.

Apart from playing intense scenes with acting powerhouses such as Burghart Klaußner, Katharina Schüttler and Jessica Schwarz, Felix also observed Tüllmann. He saw a young filmmaker who didn’t just talk the talk but also walked the walk. Tüllmann made a true Indie feature. She did not wash down the script to make it a TV style crime film to receive public funding. No, she said “Fuck it, I am going to make it by myself.” Having observed that this is possible, the idea was planted in Schaefer’s head to one day do the same.

Man Cave

This could be the shortest possible synopsis of the film: Man Cave! But why write a film about six men? Haven’t we gotten past gender separation in the 21st century anyway?

Schaefer feels that it is important for men to get together, for men to be around men, and for men to have their rituals, such as  wishing a teacher farewell.

The genius of the film is that it neither disgraces male testosterone-driven urges and feelings, nor the more considerate 21st century men. Schaefer himself might best embody the vast spectrum of masculinity today. You can find Schaefer in Berlin dancing in ballet classes just as often as sparring fiercely in martial arts gyms.

This was perhaps the biggest motive for Schaefer to write the script, to show what a man really is: human.

 

Bromance

Bromance, what does that mean? Schaefer’s definition is: Men being comfortable to ask other men for help! And yes, a lot of men need help!

  • Men are 4 times more likely than women to be murdered and 10 times more likely to commit murder.
  • Men are nearly 3 times more likely than women to abuse alcohol.
  • Boys are approximately 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit (and hyperactivity) disorder (ADD and ADHD) than girls are.
  • Boys are 4 times more likely than girls to drop out of school.
  • 75% of all suicides are committed by men.
  • 10% of men work more than 60 hours per week.

 

Save the world

OK, men need help, why not make a documentary about men’s health?

Schaefer knows that the audience gives a filmmaker 90 minutes of precious life time, and does not necessarily want to be lectured. So he aims to entertain above all, but at the same time he wants to communicate a message. He wants to inspire men of any age to see the importance in creating spaces to talk to each other. May all men be saved by this film, or at least start talking a little more to each other.

 

10 day year

When Schaefer told his Director of Photography (DoP) Peter Bromme that the plan is to shoot 125 pages of dialogue in 10 days, Peter answered that “he liked the idea”. Schaefer was shocked, as the expected and usual answer was more to the tune of “you are crazy”. Surrounding yourself with people with a yes-mindset is how this film ever had a chance of getting shot in 10 days. Ultimately, the team did succeed in shooting the film, and created a 122 minutes rough cut, chopping it down to 82 entertaining minutes in post-production.

Sponsors

ALBAYRAK

Ina Schoof Photography

Filmlawine Productions

Credits

CAST

Mario
Roger Bonjour

Karl
Mario Mentrup

Ralf
Martin Langenbeck

Giuseppe
Maximilian Dirr

Norbert
Harald Siebler

Filipe
Felix Schäfer

Uli
Rael Anderson

Helga
Sinha Melina Gierke

Maryn
Maryan Bartilla

Gertrud
Eva Conte

Casting
Felix Schäfer

Casting Assistant
Martin Rother

Director
Felix Schäfer

Co-Director
Martin Rother

Executive Producer
Felix Schäfer

Production Company
Schäfer Method Films

Production Management
Felix Schäfer
Martin Rother

Production
Coordinator Martin Rother

Director of Photography
Peter Bromme

Assistants Camera
Dorothea Pilz
Lukas Plodek
Diego Sapienza
Jonas Niemann

Grip
Kaype Alves

Sound
Stefan Soltau
Oliver Göbel

Sound Assistant
Rael Anderson
Gaffer Joël Kinast

Best Boy
Kevin Ruhland

Catering
Felix Schäfer
Edelweiss

Special Effects
Make-Up
Aline Jakoby
Helen Weissenberg

Stunt
Coordinator Felix Schäfer

Editor
Mario Propper

Additional
Editor
Benjamin Kaubisch

Production Design
Felix Schäfer
Martin Rother
Peter Bromme

Costume
BoerlinBoerds Design

Jewelry
BoerlinBoerds Design
NickvonK

Photographer
Ina Schoof

Editor Trailer
Wayne Harvey

Sound Design
Dominic Edgley
Christopher Carter

Sound Editing
Dominic Edgley

Music
Dominic Edgley
Christopher Carter

ADR Mixer
Stefan Soltau

ADR Editor
Dominic Edgley

Foley Artist
Christopher Carter

Foley Editor
Christopher Carter

Re-recording
Mixer Björn Wiese

Supervising Sound Editor
Stefan Soltau

VFX Artist
Nadeera Gunasekara

Colourist
Fatih Öger

Subtitles
Mario Propper

Credit Design
Michael Trende
Mark Laqua

Chapter Graphics
Michael Trende
Mark Laqua

Script
Felix Schäfer

Script Development Assistance
Tobias Schäfer
Philipp Schäfer

Songs

”The Reel Story”
by Augustin
performed by Michael Regner

”Burdens”
by Augustin
performed by Michael Regner

”Set us free”
by Chloe Alice Lewer
performed by Chloe Alice Lewer

“Amazing Grace”
by John Newton
performed by Freya Casey

”Hey that’s Okay”
by Olmo
performed by Francesco Lo Giudice