TV documentary about the Donau Schwaben migration from Germany to Banat - Romania and their cultural heritage from both countries
PROJECT
The film “From Germany to Banat” is meant to be a touristic, cultural and historical 52 minutes TV documentary. Using as a pretext the migration of the Donau Schwaben from Germany to Banat – Romania in the 18th century, the film will present the tourist attractions from Ulm and Neu Ulm as well as the German cultural heritage from the Banat region of Romania. The languages to be used in the film will be both German and Romanian.
SYNOPSIS
Our journey starts at the Auswanderungsdenkmal der Donauschwaben, on the shores of the Danube in the city of Ulm. We can see here several metal plates on a wall. They indicate the different places in the Romanian Banat region that were populated with German emigrants after the Habsburg Empire won the war with the Ottomans in 1718. Since then, there have been several waves of migration from Germany to Banat. And the colonists brought with them a very rich cultural heritage: local traditions, language, religion and traditional costumes. It is no wonder that nowadays many cities in Romania have close cultural relations with cities in Germany. For example, the German Forum in Timisoara is in relations with Ulm.
Following the German migrants who traveled by water to the Eastern part of Europe and using this historical event as a pretext, we will discover the cultural and tourist attractions from two sides of the mighty Danube River: The German Ulm / Neu Ulm side and The Romanian Banat side. It is worth to mention that in present times, 300 years after the Donau Schwaben migration, there is a new and opposite migration: many Romanians from the Banat region go to work in Germany. In this context, the film can present several families: Romanian migrant families who work in Ulm and Neu Ulm on the one hand and old ethinc German families from Banat on the other hand. Following the stories and personal preferences of these local families (German and Romanian), we will also discover the tourist attractions and cultural traditions from both regions.
We wish to create a film about the spiritual and cultural relations that connect Ulm and Neu Ulm with the Banat Region in Romania. This will be a television documentary about the German cultural heritage that was brought to Romania by the first German colonists and their impact into this region. Further more through the eyes of local families, we will also discover the beautiful places in both countries, with great tourist attractions and a fantastic history connected by the river Danube.
CALENDAR
Production and completion of the documentary will take around one year. From late spring 2023 till spring 2024, as described below:
Financing: January – April 2023
Preparation and filming: April – July 2023
Post-production: July 2023 – March 2024.
Official TV and Online release: Spring 2024
MEDIA PLAN
The documentary film “From Germany to Banat” will have a duration of 52 minutes (so-called clasic „hour” for a television show) and will follow the classic circuit of a television documentary: After completion it will be launched simultaneously online (also on all the channels of our financing partners) and on Free TV (our Association has an old tradition with the National Television in Romania where it has already broadcasted 10 documentaries in the last 8 years). We also wish to propose broadcasting the film on German Local television or National Free TV Station. At the same time, the documentary can also be launched in a series of international free access avant-premieres at the cinema if we get the support of the local authorities in this matter.
DOCUMENTARY PORTFOLIO
The quality of the film will be at the level of professional TV documentaries. It will be produced by a team of internationally awarded professionals with over 15 years of experience in international documentaries. A few examples from the Film Director’s portfolio could be watched below. Most of the examples are tourist, cultural and historical TV documentaries, exactly as the film “From Germany to Banat” will be. The film director has extensive experience in this type of film productions. All of the following documentaries (see below) are spoken in Romanian Language with English Subtitles:
EXPERIENCED CREW
The director and producer of the film will be Sabin Dorohoi, a film maker with more than 60 awards and nominations world wide, who produced internationally awarded films and documentaries at film festivals around the world: Los Angeles, Cannes, Palm springs, Geneva, Montpellier, Capalbio, Reykjavik, Chicago, Geneva, Rome, Berlin, Paris, Vilnius, San Francisco, Regensburg or Mexico. He was the first and only Romanian director to screen footage of a film at the world’s most famous music competition: Eurovision Vienna 2015. Moreover, we also want to film this documentary with the best camera on the market. In order to keep the quality standard as high as possible, it is natural to use the most advanced technical equipment. The international portfolio of the production company and the film director can be found on http://www.wtscinema.com/portfolio
BUDGET & METHODS OF FINANCING
The total budget of the entire project (production & post-production) is estimated around 160.000 Euro. We estimate that around 80.000 Euro could be covered from the Romanian side, by applying to various local cultural funds. So we will need around 80.000 Euro from German partners.
An important mention is that this project is a non-profit. As it will be produced by a non-profit organisation, we do not intend to sell it to TV stations nor to the cinema circuit. All screenings and broadcast will be for free. This is why we are searching only for non-recoupable financial support from both countries.
The film will be produced by the Non Profit Organisation “Arta Banatica Cinematica” which is registred in the asociation’s entities / units in Romania (so called “registrul entitatilor / unitatilor de cult din Romania”), so in case of a private sponsorship, our sponsor can deduct its entire investment in this project, redirecting the money that is anyway given to the state. All details about the budget, financing and sponsorship are extremely important, so they shall be discussed only in a direct meeting with our financing partners.
DEADLINE & CONTACT
The decision to support this project must be taken by March 2023.
ATTENTION! We only need a response regarding the interest in the project in this deadline! The financial support could come later in the year, according to our financing partner’s budget programe. So, for now we only need an answer regarding the feasibility of the project.
The deadline of this “participation” answer is March 2023 the latest, because all the Romanian Applications for Cultural funds take place during the months of March and April. And in order to apply for funds in Romania we need to know if it would be possible to find financial support also in Germany.
Sabin Dorohoi – director and producer | +40 724 008 931 | sabindorohoi@yahoo.com