Idan Weiss was born in Seesen in Lower Saxony in 1997. He started acting in “Cactus Junges Theater” in 2015. This was followed by a year at the ARTURO acting school in Cologne and a move to the IAF International Academy for Film Acting. He played different roles in theatres and also directed plays. Parallel to the theater, Idan Weiss worked in front of the camera. Director Robert Thalheim cast him in his feature film TKKG (2019). This was followed by many more educational productions and short films – and then came the call from casting director Simone Bär for the international coproduction FRANZ K, directed by Agnieszka Holland. For his part he was awarded as “Best Actor” at Polish film festival Gdynia. Idan Weiss is currently in front of the camera in Italy in the international cinema production THE GIRL WITH THE LEICA, directed by Alina Marazzi. Idan Weiss lives in Cologne.
German Filmmakers
on the Global Stage
German Films represents German cinema abroad. This means that we are also interested in German filmmakers who work internationally. Many German filmmakers are spread across the globe and work on a wide variety of international projects. We would like to introduce them briefly and ask them what they are currently working on.
IDAN WEISS – Actor
How did your first international project come about—was it a goal or more of a coincidence?
Before FRANZ, I had never played a leading role before, let alone in an international production. The casting director Simone Bär suggested me to Agnieszka Holland. Somehow everything then fell into place, like a puzzle assembling itself. I value such coincidences.
What have you learned about yourself from working in other countries?
How important languages and cultures are! How much we humans have to share, and that we are all connected. I love traveling, observing the world, and appreciating all the small moments life has to offer.
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Idan Weiss © Jeanne Degraa
Was there a phase when you seriously doubted your path?
Over the years, I have doubted myself repeatedly and thought a lot about my profession. But I never gave up. That’s the most important thing—that we must never give up and must keep dreaming.
What are you currently working on, and what especially attracted you to this project?
Between March and April, I’m part of a historical series – its final season. It deals with a cholera epidemic, and I play a doctor. After that come my first English-language projects. Among them, I’m playing the lead role in Jonas Steinacker’s directorial debut Save Our Souls, an eco-thriller drama, which I’m very much looking forward to.
Is there a genre, format, or theme you’d like to explore in the future?
I love films – films that are bold, that take risks and step out of the comfort zone. Not films that aim to please the audience, but ones that provoke, criticize, and encourage closer examination. I’m a big fan of the films of Terrence Malick, Lars von Trier, Julia Ducournau, Gaspar Noé, and David Lynch. I deeply appreciate this kind of filmmaking. That said, I’m a very open person and read every script.
KATJA VON GARNIER – Director
Looking back on your beginnings, what advice would you give your younger self today?
Be less afraid. At the same time, I could learn a thing or two from my younger self in terms of that feeling of being unstoppable.
Was there a moment when you realized: Now I‘m really working internationally?
Yes – definitely. For me, it was when my first U.S. project came together: IRON JAWED ANGELS. Suddenly I was working day-to-day with an American team and cast – Hilary Swank, Anjelica Huston, Patrick Dempsey, Julia Ormond on a story about two radical young women who fought to win women’s suffrage in the U.S. It was a dream, and every now and then I had to pinch myself. It was also an incredibly positive experience with HBO Films, and I felt very supported in making the film in the way I had hoped (contrary to what the usual Hollywood stories might lead you to expect). And then there was this wonderfully “international” moment, in the most human way, around the Golden Globes: Anjelica Huston won, and Hilary Swank and the film were nominated – when Hilary, between all the Golden Globe tables, briefly recited to me what she would have said if she’d won.
Katja von Garnier © Anne Wilk
Is there an international experience that has permanently changed your approach?
Definitely my experience on IRON JAWED ANGELS – especially in the editing room. Like everything, it’s always a balancing act: trusting your own creative instinct, while also staying open when good, valuable feedback comes in. Of course, it depends on who your partners are.
But I remember sitting in the edit suite with my editor Hans Funck– whom I was able to bring over from Germany to the U.S.– and we had the notes on our first cut in front of us. I read them out to him one by one, and at first we just groaned. I’d made a commitment to myself to be open and to be a trustworthy partner, because I was never going to be forced to implement something that went against my will. So we started with the attitude of: ‘Let’s just try it.’
And then we’d often sit there watching the new version and have to admit, ‘Hmm… not bad,’ or actually “… really good’– haha. I was simply surrounded by strong partners at HBO Films, and I learned to open up more – provided you share the same vision and there’s mutual trust. That pursuit of balance between my own instinct and openness is what I took away from the experience.
When does a project really feel meaningful to you today?
I think I’ve become more aware of the impact film can have. And I just hope that impact is a positive one – that something in someone resonates a little differently because of the film… maybe a little brighter.
Katja von Garnier gained early recognition in her native Germany for her film MAKING UP (1993) which also won a student Academy Award. Both MAKING UP (1993) and follow up music film BANDITS (1997), lensed from a woman’s point of view, were enormous successes with critics and at the box office. Variety chose Katja von Garnier as one of the “ten leading director’s to watch“ based on BANDITS. Katja is known specifically for creating strong female characters in her films and being an actor’s director. In 2004, Katja directed IRON JAWED ANGELS for HBO. The movie, starring Hilary Swank, Anjelica Huston, Julia Ormond, Frances O’Connor, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Dempsey, earned a Golden Globe nomination for the film, Hilary Swank a nomination and Anjelica Huston a Golden Globe win. Katja was then lured back to Germany to become the directing force behind the OSTWIND-franchise. Katja then accompanied the SCORPIONS on a world tour for the documentary FOREVER AND A DAY, and then turned to her passion of DANCE with the urban dance movie FLY. She is now working on new national as well as international projects.