In the NDR documentary ‘Against Silence’, well-known actors such as Cornelius Obonya and Erwin Steinhauer support the actors who report on abuse of power and attacks in theater and film.
In the film, which will be broadcast on NDR on March 11 and is already available online, serious accusations are made against directors Paulus Manker and Julian Pölsler. State Secretary for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens) also spoke.
„Long ago”
For Obonya, the discussion about violence and attacks as part of the documentary, for which the two NDR reporters Zita Zengerling and Kira Gantner spoke to more than 200 people, is a ‘long-awaited invitation to all of us, especially to colleagues who are more established to have. “Those who are older, who have a lot more experience, just open their mouths.”
“It has to end at some point”
“Frankly, I find it completely unbearable that we are constantly confronted with these kinds of stories, with abuse of power, with sexual violence, with verbal violence,” Mayer says in ORF’s “ZiB 2.” “It must end now,” said the State Secretary. Obonya, who appeared in front of the camera with actress Lisa-Lena Tritscher in an “Altaussee crime thriller” staged by Pölsler, told ORF: “I could have intervened harder and should have intervened harder.”
There are people “who know”
Steinhauer, who worked with Pölsler on the film adaptations of “Polt,” also told ORF “Topos” that he encouraged Tritscher to talk about her experiences. The actress is not the only one whose experiences he knows. Pölsler is “one of those colleagues who did not understand that working relationships in film and theater are bound by certain rules: respect,” Steinhauer told the “Kleine Zeitung”. “A big part of the problem in my view is that there is a structure that supports this. “The fact that there are those who know about it and those who enforce it,” actress Stefaniespeiser said in “ZiB 2,” criticizing clients and production companies.
ORF no longer employs Pölsler
Although ORF has not employed Pölsler for several years, Servus TV remains with the director, according to the Kleine Zeitung. “We generally treat such allegations with respect and care for all involved. However, we find it problematic to publicly pillory someone without legally or criminally relevant facts, but solely on the basis of the subjective interpretation of the program makers: ‘A suspicion remains’,” the broadcaster said.
The accusations made on camera by numerous actors and actresses in the NDR documentary are serious and range from advances, late-night invitations to delicate casting situations. Paulus Manker, against whom an actor and an actress from his production ‘Alma’ have made accusations of physical attacks, is also brought back into the picture through the documentary. Both Manker and Pölsler were unavailable for statements to NDR and the charges were dismissed by their respective lawyers. Manker described the accusations against “ZiB 2” as fictitious.
Source: Krone
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