A: We felt that animation was the most suitable form for making the legacy of Anne Frank accessible to today's younger generation, too. Making a Holocaust film in times of increasing racism and Holocaust denial has been a guiding theme for us over the years.
A: The way Ari Folman found outstanding solutions to a complex endeavour: the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel wanted a film about Kitty with a connection to the present and about Margot and Anne's last seven months after the end of the diary. The artistic solution of turning Kitty into the main character was a brilliant idea of Ari Folman’s.
A: The main thing for me as a producer is to remain true to the fundamental idea for the creation of the film that the director had in the first place. As is the case for any film production, animation involves hundreds of people who join the project and bring countless questions and challenges with them. It’s absolutely essential to hold onto your own initial conviction and to weigh up carefully what you do in the present in order to ensure that you aren't working against your original idea.
A: What’s seen as commercial in Europe, is often considered to be art house in the USA, for example. I believe that we’ve simply made a film that aims to make the Diary of Anne Frank accessible to the young generation who might not read the book but would watch a film. That was our fundamental mission. However, it goes without saying that we’re film-makers, and not politicians, and that the most important thing for us is to make a film that is good, powerful and accessible enough to allow us to achieve our goals. And commercial market intentions are always set slightly lower for a Holocaust film than for other films. However, I’m convinced that we’re going to reach a large international audience with this film.
A: I didn't ever feel that I needed to take on a supervisory role. The whole thing evolved very organically as the film was developed over a long period of time. The essential thing as a producer is to have complete trust in the director. During production you can, of course, intervene and help where necessary. However, selecting the director is the foundation of every film and we all know what Ari Folman has already achieved and what we can expect of him. In this case, the great challenge definitely lay in showing what happened to Anne Frank after the diary ends when she was deported. How can you bring the Holocaust into a film that is also being made for children and families? Ari Folman found a powerful way of doing this, which is one of the things I find extremely compelling about the film.
A: In addition to the fact that it’s the first Holocaust film that’s been made for children, I was also attracted to the task of presenting a contemporary perspective of the Holocaust. With the character of Kitty, we have a young, current, witty personality, while the past is represented at the same time by Anne. This is the answer to the question of how we can make the topic appealing to a young audience.
A: If you want to make a film as elaborate as this one in Europe, it needs to be done as a co-production. I’ve produced countless feature films but I couldn’t have managed this one alone. It was also my first – and probably my last – animated film. Animated films are much more complicated and even five or ten years ago I probably wouldn't have been able to do it on my own. Achieving this not only requires a large number of images, but also patience, resistance and a willingness to take risks.
A: When I saw the finished film for the first time with distributors, agents and other involved parties, I was proud and touched because I believe that this is an important film that needed to be made today. Given all the problems that we have with different types of racism, immigration and all kinds of violence, I see the film's message as extremely important. I think that's what I’m proudest of.
A: We are being confronted with increasing numbers of people who hate others – because they are Jews, Muslims, persons of cultural differences and people of colour or something else. Today, we see populism, right-wing extremism, even fascism, and definitely racism and xenophobia in all European countries. I don’t believe a film can change anything, but I believe it’s important that, as film-makers, we do everything to fulfil our hope of films playing a part in reintroducing a different mental and political attitude.
A: She’s the main character in our film, and this is where she becomes visible for the first time as Anne's imaginary friend. I love this character – she’s the wittiest, cleverest and funniest girl you can imagine, and she asks completely normal questions. However, at the end of the film, she stands up for what she feels is right and for what Anne would have stood up for. For me, this is the overriding idea of the script and the film: bringing Anne's convictions back to life, but transposing them to today's Europe.
A: From the very beginning of the project we’ve worked with the Anne Frank Fonds to release this educational programme to accompany the film. It’s a mission for all of us to get this film into schools, to children and young people, in order to initiate a discussion about today's problems but also about the significance of Anne Frank’s story in today's world. It’s not only about the Holocaust, which must of course never be forgotten, but also about the lessons that we can take from it for our own life. So it’s not only a matter of looking back at what happened then, but also to see what is essential about the diary and its message for the new generation.
A: It's a sad fact that our film is extremely important at the moment as the problems addressed in it, and the dangers facing minorities and children, as well as wars, are more topical than ever. The fact that this is the case doesn't make me proud of humanity, and I believe that we all need to face up to these problems. Our film is just a drop in the ocean in this process and we won't be able to change much with it. But we are doing what we can as film-makers.
A: Once a film like this has been started, you can't simply stop. We started before the pandemic, but then corona arrived and from then onwards we had to deal with the associated problems. This meant that we went over budget and had to overcome numerous challenges. It was probably the most challenging and most difficult film I’ve ever produced. An animated film usually takes four to five years until it is finished – a bit like a sprint that you run during a marathon. As a producer, you need to be present at all times on this long journey and even though the film is virtually finished today, I can still hardly believe that we’ve actually got to this point. You get used to it just going on and on and that can get under your skin. That's why I don't believe you can make numerous films like this, one after the other. It really was hard work.
A: That's because the current version of our film is structured for being shown in cinemas. However, when financing started five years ago, there was no option apart from the one in cinemas with distributors, advance sales, etc. In the meantime, the pandemic has changed certain things dramatically, but we still believe that this film has the power to conquer cinemas, which is why we believe and hope that we’ll be able to release the film around the world by the end of 2021.
A: Cooperation between Ari, the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel as Otto Frank's sole heir, and myself was not difficult in this regard. I only joined the team when the development of the film started, so five years ago. We were delighted that members of the family who were still alive and the Anne Frank Fonds never imposed any limitations, but always provided any support we needed. We had access to all the archives and at no time did anybody say: you can't do it like that. It goes without saying that we discussed everything and explained our ideas, but the relationship was always based on trust and there were never any attempts to exert pressure. We were completely free to create something that looks different to the diary, that is a piece of art and that, we hope, also provides a certain level of entertainment. This is probably also due to the fact that, from the very beginning, it was important to all of us to be extremely clear about the type of film we wanted to make. This meant that we had a kind of moral deal.