A
Dominican friar takes time for conversations with various people during their
journeys
Suitcases clatter as they are rolled
across the polished floor. Passengers rush into Frankfurt Airport, hastily
searching for their gates. While large airplanes roll by on the tarmac, the
camera focuses on a friar in a white habit. These are the first scenes from
Sonja Toepfer’s newest film project: “God in Transit”.
“What happens, when we place a monk
with a desire to engage others in conversation in the middle of a crowd?” This
is the central question and the base upon which this extraordinary and exciting
film project rests. Film director Sonja Toepfer captures spontaneous encounters
and voluntary conversations of travelers with Fra’ Augustinus Hildebrandt
(O.P.) on screen. The reason for this project is the 800th
anniversary of the creation of the Dominican Order. However, according to the
director, this film is not intended as an Image-film, but one which focuses
solely on the strength and spirituality of the Dominicans. For the members of
the order conversations with strangers is certainly something to which they are
accustomed. Whether at university, in prison or at a hospital, this project
differs from the otherwise structured day-to-day lives of the monks through its
spontaneity and the locations at which it was filmed.
Cafés as Embodiments of our Fast-paced
World
The film takes place in semi-public
areas such as the transit area of Frankfurt Airport, a café and a hotel lobby.
“Many people have to pass through these places, but often enough they pause
there for a moment or two,” says the film director Sonja Toepfer. For her cafés are the embodiment of our
modern, fast-paced world. And it is exactly in such places that the film crew
attempts to “catch a glance of the person who finds success in failure,” as
Fra’ Augustinus describes it. In order to be able to do this, it is necessary
to interrupt these people in their daily lives, and to interact with them. “I
wanted to speak about topics which are of a personal importance to them. The
conversation topics were not specified, and I didn't want to always talk about
the Church and about God,” the friar adds. The film crew weren’t the only ones
who were happy about a successful encounter; the owner of a café in which such
a conversation was filmed, was quite enthusiastic about the possibility of
people to converse in a casual setting.
Long Fluent Recordings
The film is a work of art with an
open ending. Director Sonja Toepfer does not like to produce overly sensational
films. Every participant should feel at ease, and have the opportunity to
express themselves freely. The script had no specific list of personalities
which were supposed to show up in the film. “We didn’t want to ambush anybody,”
Fra’ Augustinus adds. Sonja Toepfer merely spoke to people who seemed
interested and, after a short exchange of pleasantries, the conversation with
Fra’ Augustinus could begin. Every conversation partner has their own
intentions and interests, and the courage to break the ice. The ease with which
the encounters unfolded, and the genuine depiction on an emotional level are
very important to her. The cinematography is of the utmost importance, in order
to portray the desired easy manner of the conversations. For this, Sonja
Toepfer enlisted the help of cameraman Emmanuel Dinh, who comes from the island
of La Réunion. He specializes in work with the so-called “Steadicam”, used in
documentary-filming.
The
Steadicam allows for long, fluent recordings, which give the viewer a better
viewing experience, to the extent of him/her feeling as if they were actually
there, while the scene is being filmed.
The Subconscious Picture is Very Important
Emmanuel Dinh tries to not only be
as close as possible to what is taking place, but, in his words, “the viewer
must also understand, why one feels so close to Augustinus.” For this reason,
he has taken it upon himself to capture the emotions and movements of the
people he is filming, without distorting anything. The Steadicam can be
fastened to the body of the cameraman, and can keep up with quick changes of
direction, without having to be readjusted. “Something doesn’t always happen
when we expect it to, but when something does happen, then we can spring into
action immediately, thanks to the flexibility of the camera,” Dinh explains. Additionally,
recordings can be made without him actually having to look through the lens.
“This does not scare people off quite as much,” he says.
Director Sonja Toepfer met Emmanuel
Dinh via the social network website Facebook. She is very enthusiastic about
his perspective on people, which in many ways resembles her own. “Every camera
operator has a subconscious conception of people, which he projects onto the
objects of his films, and he just sees humans the way I do,” she explains,
“because the impact of the subconscious image is incredibly important.” The
image will then be completed by the addition of sound recordings. Berlin sound
technician Tom Förderer was responsible for this. His job was the capture the
perfect mixture of background noise and the conversations. Here, too,
spontaneity played an important role, because “I could not say: I need that
again. I had to be on the spot,” Tom Förderer explains to us. Also, he had to
keep an eye on the surroundings, so the cameraman could move about freely, and
not cause an accident.
A Strong Metaphysical Dimension
The recordings make it seems as if
the viewer is floating through the room; like God, who passes through people
and watches them without himself being visible. There were many moments during
the shooting where travelers would simply rush past the camera without even
noticing it. “The point-of-view of the images is not Fra’ Augustinus’, but
those of God,” as Sonja Toepfer confirms. “This allows the viewer to experience
a strong metaphysical dimension.” Fra’ Augustinus is and remains a part of this
world. This project is a very personal one for Sonja Toepfer, as it also reflects
her own search for God. “We are all searching for God, but perhaps God is also
searching for us,” she says.
As a member of a monastic order who
has committed himself to mobility, Dominican Augustinus Hildebrandt fits well
into the bigger picture. He himself says, that he was drawn to this project rather
accidentally. Director Sonja Toepfer simply found him, and said, “I need him.”
At the beginning Fra’ Augustinus had some doubts as to whether he was the right
choice for this task. Also, the 31-year old could not imagine that strangers
would be willing to speak with him in front of the camera while they walked
through the airport. “I myself would probably hurry away, if I were a
traveler,” he adds, jokingly.
Sometimes a Conversation almost resembled
a Confession
However, his curiosity and some
words of encouragement finally convinced him to engage in the conversations. “I
said to myself, it’s time to do something,” Fra’ Augustinus explains. Looking
back on the project, he is very happy to have been a part of mit. The joy and
cordiality with which he was received moved him every time he met a new interviewee.
And in one case, he says, that he experienced a “true connection” during the
conversation. “One time, I delved very deeply into a topic with my conversation
partner. We just kept passing the ball back and forth, so to speak. I did not
at all expect such a deep, personal connection,” he added, happily.
Naturally, this sort of project is
not something you see every day, and it certainly drew its amount of startled
and confused looks. There was also the occasional photo of the monk in his
habit. But, “Fra’ Augustinus was treated with a lot of respect. The ones who
reacted very positively to him, were people who are generally areligious,” as
Sonja Toepfer tells us, impressed. “Sometimes, a conversation almost resembled
a confession.” The one thing which stuck with Fra’ Augustinus the most, was the
realization that people are certainly more than capable of having intimate
conversations in public areas. “The need for some people to have these talks is
astonishingly big,” he says. He will most certainly remain in the memories of
many a conversation partner, waiting in the departure area of the airport in
his white habit, while outside the window the metal giants of the skies roll
by.
By now, almost all scenes of the
movie – which last about 60 minutes – have been filmed, and post-production has
begun. The premiere will take place on October 5th, in “Capitol
Kino”, in Mainz.
-
Christian Burger
Information
on the film project:
If
you wish to contact the team (Augustinus Hildebrandt, O.P. and Sonja Toepfer),
please send your e-mails to:
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