FUSION COOKING: BRINGING A MULTI-NATIONAL
CAST & CREW TOGETHER
At any one time on the set of Mostly Martha, a visitor would have heard a cacophony of languages --- Italian, French, English and German. The multi-national cast and production entities created a veritable United Nations of tongues each day.
Castellitto for instance, did not speak any German at all. As Nettelbeck explains, "Everyone found their own way of communicating. The costume designer spoke French with Sergio, so did the sound crew. Michael (Bertl) spoke Italian with him; I went back and forth between French and English. Martina spoke English with him and little Maxime used sign language and let him teach her Italian words. "
Nettelbeck is still amazed that he was able to take and follow direction so easily even with the language barrier. Complicating the filming further, Castellitto said his lines for the film in Italian while the rest of the cast spoke German. "I can't remember exactly how I managed to direct him…I think I went by his tone, the music of his lines. "
As challenging as it was to communicate with Castellitto on set, Nettelbeck sympathizes with what it must have been like for Castellitto. "Sergio didn't understand a word of what we were saying on set. It must have been very isolating hearing the entire buzz on the set, the discussions, the questions, and the excitement. But he coped with it very well. " After a while, both the crew and cast stopped noticing that Sergio was speaking in a separate language.
However, by the time Nettelbeck went to Italy for the final few days of shooting, she felt as if her head was spinning. Her assistant director there spoke only French, and one half of the crew spoke only German and the other half spoke only Italian. This mostly Italian crew also worked in an entirely different rhythm than Nettelbeck had been used to.
"It was interesting for us Germans to see how the Italian crew worked," observed Nettelbeck. "Their lunch breaks for example are twice as long as ours. They sit down on the lawn, they eat for half an hour and then they sleep for half an hour. In Germany, we rush down our food and go right back to work after precisely thirty minutes. "
MARTINA GEDECK
"Martha Klein"
In Mostly Martha, Martina Gedeck stars as Chef Martha Klein, a woman whose world is turned upside down by the unexpected arrival of her eight-year-old niece and a new flamboyant, fun loving Italian sous chef.
One of the busiest German actresses of her generation, Gedeck is a veteran of more than 20 films and over 34 television projects and has earned both critical and audience acclaim.
Most recently seen in Anno Saul's 1998 film, Grune Wueste, Gedeck was awarded the Bavarian Film Award as Best Female character.
Gedeck also starred in the 1992 film Krucke , which received the Federal Film Ribbon, Hessian Film Award and Audience Award Saarbrucken. Gedeck won the German Film Award for Best Supporting Role for her work in two films, Rossini and Das Leben ist eine Baustelle.
While still a student at University of Arts, Berlin, Gedeck made her motion picture debut in 1983 in Dieter Funk's Retouche. Other films immediately followed, including Stadtgespraech, Tiger, Loewe, Panther, Die Kruecke and Der bewegte Mann.
Gedeck made her debut on German Television in the 1985 "Die Beute". At the same time she started working at different theatres.
In 1994, she was awarded The Bavarian Television Prize for her work in Die Hoelleisengretl. She was given the Adolf Grimme Award in 1998 for her work on three projects, Bella Block, Der Neffe and Die Kriminalpsychologin. . In 2000 she was given again the Adolf Grimme Award as well as the TV Award Baden-Baden for Romeo. Further honored for her role in Bella Block, she was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Female Supporting Role.
In June 2002 Martina Gedeck was given the German Film Award for Best Female Role in Mostly Martha, as well as the price for Best Actress at the Festival du Film D'Amour in Mons (Belgium).
Born and educated in Germany, Gedeck majored in German and History at the FU University Berlin and graduated in 1986 from the University of Arts in Berlin. At the age of 16 she spent one year as an exchange student in Glen Rock (New Jersey) and graduated with a high school diploma.
SERGIO CASTELLITTO
"Mario"
Sergio Castellitto graduated from the Silvio D'Amieo National Academy of Dramatic Art in 1978. He began his theatrical career in Italian public theater with Shakespeare's Measure for Measure at the Teatro di Roma and with roles in other plays in the great tradition of Italian comedy. Then he performed two sessions at the Teatro di Genova, taking on the roles of Tuzenbach in Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters and Jean in Strindberg's Miss Julie, directed by the great Czech director Otomar Krejka.
His production of Piccoli Equivoci by the young Italian playwright Claudio Bigagli was a tremendous success at the Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto. At that same festival, he experimented with bringing Peter Handke's Infelicita Senza Desideri (Sorror Beyond Dreams) to the stage.
Castellitto made his debut in the cinema in 1982 playing alongside Marcello Mastroianni in L'Armata Ritorna (The General of the Dead Army), directed by Luciano Tovoli, which was followed by Magic Moments with Stefaring Sandrelli. He has also taken leading roles in some of the best films by young auteur directors such as Marco Colti (Giovanni Senza Pensteri) and Felice Fatina (Sembra Morto Ma El Solo Svenuto), for which Castellitto also served as the subject and screenwriter. In 1986, he acted with Vittorio Gassman and Fanny Ardant in the great saga La Famiglia (The Family) directed by Ettore Seola.
MAXIME FOERSTE
"Lina"
Maxime Foerste plays Martha's young, headstrong niece, Lina. Mostly Martha is Foerste's first lead role in a theatrical film.
Born in 1991, Foerste was discovered in 1998 by Lars Kraume for his television movie, "Retribution. " In 1999 she played the lead role in Kraumes TV movie "Der Mörder meiner Mutter".
Although the ten-year-old enjoyed her experience making Mostly Martha, her passion -- at least for the time being - is ice skating.
SIBYLLE CANONICA
"Frida"
Born in Switzerland, Canonica began her training at the College of Dramatic Arts in Essen and won the Futherance Award at the Berlin Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1985. In addition to her native German, she is fluent in English and French and knows basic Italian.
Canonica began her acting career in the theater in 1961, as part of the Oldenburg Theater Group. During her time in theater, she starred in many productions, including Richard III, the German premiere of Closer by director Christof Loy, and Dulce Est.
Canonica turned from the stage to television in 1994 with Mrs. Klein, directed by Ingamo Engstrom and made her film debut in 1995 in Hans-Christian Schmid's After Five in the Jungle. Her other films have included Beyond Silence, Campus, and The Mask of Desire.
Canonica portrays Martha's restaurateur boss, Frida, who hires the Italian chef Mario as an addition to their staff. In 2001, Sibylle received a nomination for the Suisse Movie Awards for Best Actress for Mostly Martha.
KATJA STUDT
"Lea"
Katja Studt was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1973. By 13, she was selected by Dieter Wedel to appear in his TV-3 series "Wilder Western Inclusive". Since 1993, the sought-after actress has been seen in numerous television and film productions, as well as in the 1997 French production of Balzac with Gérard Depardieu. In 1994, she was nominated for the "Next Generation Award" for her role in Tom Tykwers film Tödliche Maria at the Max-Ophüls Festival in Saarbrücken. In 2001, she was nominated for Best Lead in a Television Drama by the German TV Prize for her role in "Mörderinnen".
OLIVER BROUMIS
"Jan"
Born in Germany in 1965, Broumis studied acting in Hamburg and Los Angeles before beginning his stage career in 1986. At the age of 23, after starring in a number of theatrical productions, Broumis began working in film and television. His television credits include the TV Great Britain film Magic and Heidi Pils' Austern Express. He has also starred in the films Immer & Ewig, Stalingrad, and Durchgebraten.
AUGUST ZIRNER
"Therapist"
August Zirner was born in 1956 in Urbana, Illinois to Austrian emigrant parents. After finishing high school, from 1973-1976 he studied acting at the Max-Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. After his debut in 1976 at the Vienese Volkstheater there followed engagements with the Niedersachsischen Statstheater Hanover, the Hessischen Statstheater Wiesbaden, the Kammerspielen, Munich, the Burdtheater Vienna, and the Theater in Josefstadt, the Salzburg Festival and the Zurich Schauspielhaus.
Since the 1980's, Zirner has been one of the most well known actors in Germany. He has worked with noted directors such as Vivian Naefe, Doris Dorrie, Roland Suso Ricther, Rainer Kaufmann, Caroline Link, Nargarette Von Trotta and Volker Schondroff. He has been seen on the silver screen in the following films: Stadtgessprach (1995), Die Apothekerin (1997), Punktchen und Avton (1999), and Das Sams (2001).
ULRICH THOMSEN
"Sam Thalberg"
Ulrich Thomsen portrays Martha's neighbor Sam Thalberg, an architect and single father. Known to American audiences from his role as Chief of Security Sasha Davidov in the 1999 James Bond film, The World is Not Enough, Thomsen earned this part following his break-through role as Christian in the international film, Festen. Thomsen will next be seen in Killing Me Softly and Rocket Post.
In his native Denmark, Thomsen has been acting in film and television since 1994. Most recently he has appeared in The Zookeeper, P.O.V., Mike Bassett: England Manager, The Weight of Water and Solen er sa/rod.
Thomsen graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993. He has worked with several theatre companies in Copenhagen including Dante Aveny, Mungo Park and the Ostre Gasvaerks Theater.
