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Jeden Monat nähern sich unsere Kolumnisten, die Berliner Filmemacher Dominik und Benjamin Reding, dem jeweiligen Heftthema
auf ihre ganz eigene Art und Weise. Geboren wurden die Zwillinge am 3. Ja nuar 1969 in Dortmund. Während Dominik Architektur
in Aachen und Film in Hamburg studierte, absolvierte Benjamin ein Schauspielstudium in Stuttgart. 1997 begann die Arbeit an ihrem
ersten gemeinsamen Kinofilm „Oi! Warning“. Seitdem arbeiten sie für Fernseh- und Kinofilmprojekte zusammen.

Each month our columnists, Berlin-based filmmakers Dominik and Benjamin Reding, approach the respective issue-specific theme
in their very personal way. The twins were born on January 3, 1969 in Dortmund. Whilst Dominik studied architecture in Aachen
and film in Hamburg, Benjamin graduated in acting studies in Stuttgart. They started working on their first joint motion picture “Oi!
Warning“ in 1997. Since then they have tightly collaborated for TV and cinema film projects.

O how beautiful!” Such a stupid sentence, but I couldn’t think of anything better! gallery district of the Lower East Side. In one of these white, refrigerator-bright, all-glass
ground-floor stores. And it was difficult to find since, behind all the windows, the same
What are you supposed to say, after all, if, on a mild autumn evening, you get off
the subway with its dim light, climb dirty stairs and come out in Times Square in New groups of modern, artsy people appeared to be gathered. “Hey, it´s over there!” So-
York? And a new world unfolds: warm, dense, buzzing, honking, glittering, glinting, the meone shouted next to me, with emphasis as if Beyoncé were standing on the other side
ground trembling, the sky shining red. Coco covered her mouth with her hand. “Are the of the street. It was our long-haired host, but today in a suit which made him look like
exhaust fumes that bad?” She hadn’t even heard me. “O like in a film”, she said and pi- a Russian anarchist shortly before the October Revolution. He shoved us through a glass
voted around her own axis. “We must go to the MoMA, up to the top of the Empire State door, greeted people left and right, filmed with his Super 8 camera. And he was lucky,
Building and to Central Park, to this pond where all the films are set.” “All of them?”, I there were many long-haired people there, young and carefree and attractive. Only once
asked. “Well, almost all”, she said and smiled. “It is so pretty here.” Faust was standing did someone grey-haired end up among them. “I.B. Herman, Actors’ Agent”, as he in-
close to a shop window, tensed his upper body and was satisfied looking at the reflec- troduced himself without having been asked. A man in his late fifties with a tailor-made
tion. His Franconian dialect sounded as strange here as a children’s song at a heavy- suit, a tan from the solarium and a toothpaste smile. He clasped my hand so hard that
metal concert. Faust wasn’t an actor, unlike Coco who had already worked for television; the fingers were hurting and gave his business card to all those who were present:
he was an amateur and a boxer and had played a young, angry thug in my film. Since Montgomery Build., 722 Avenue of the Americas, 27th floor, Office Suite 401, New York,
the joint shooting, we called each other by nicknames: Coco because the hard edges of NY. Golden embossed letters on velvety paper. Then I saw him shaking hands with Coco;
her face, as she claimed, reminded of Coco Chanel and she grimaced while it happened. “I´m I.B. Herman and I´ll
Faust [fist in German], well, for obvious reasons. They cal- be your man!” He laughed loudly at his joke. Then he
led me Benne, somewhat less imaginative. “Benne, in N.Y. dropped a few names of well-known actors, of course
(she said N.Y.!) I definitely have to buy a Kate Spade hand- they were all clients of his agency. “O man, what a brag-
bag and find an agent. Without an agent, nothing ever ger.” I wanted to tell Coco but she was already deep in
happens in the States (she did say States!).” Coco had conversation with I.B.; then I wanted to tell Faust but he
read the reviews. Of our film! In the Hollywood Reporter! was flirting with a woman who looked amazingly like
The criticism had been kind, particularly where she was Sofia Coppola and then I became hungry and went to the
concerned: “She makes the silver screen shine.” She had buffet and stuffed my mouth with three marzipan balls at
cut out the article and looked at it again and again, just once. And died. Almost. It was not marzipan; they were
to make sure, like checking a lottery ticket with all the wasabi balls. And while I was in the bathroom rinsing my
right numbers. “Coco, this is one of these tiny art-house mouth in a kind of agony beyond description, I saw in the
film festivals, there won’t be any important agents mirror on my left a man who resembled Josh Hartnett,
around.” She looked at me with disappointment. “And and then on my right an older gentleman whose striking
one of those handbags, you can also get it on the Internet, face looked similar to Bill Murray’s and suddenly I reali-
and at half the price.” She shook her head. “But then it Foto: Benjamin Reding zed that these people not only resembled them but that
would not be from New York.” Our festival was so small they were actually these people. Sofia Coppola was Sofia
that they were not paying for any hotel rooms but put the Coppola and the clients of Mr Herman were really his
guests up in private homes such as in our case with a young film enthusiast with long, clients. I was alarmed! The name Montgomery Building had made me imagine a kind
frizzy hair who collected Super 8 films. Only Super 8 films which had long-haired people of art deco palace, but it was no more than a high-rise building from the 1960s with a
in them. On the occasion of wedding celebrations, school enrolments, holidays and all grid-like façade and a glazed entrance hall. Coco arrived late. “Well, do you notice any-
kinds of private events. He enlarged some stills and pinned them to the walls of his thing?” I looked at her. “No.” “Gosh, you never notice anything like that.” She headed
apartment: long-haired soldiers, priests, teenagers, hippies, teachers and policemen. “Is for the elevators. “I’ll be back in 20 minutes.” And now I noticed it, she had bought her-
that Central Park there?” Coco was standing at the window, stretching. “What else?” Our self a handbag, something longish in purple and patent leather. “Good luck!” I called
host spoke German. Coco pushed up the window, closed her eyes and inhaled the air. but by then the elevator doors had already closed behind her. Coco didn’t come back.
“Wow, so close … this is where we will meet if we ever get lost in New York, okay?” Our Not even after an hour. So, I went up to the 27th floor and knocked on the door of office
host grinned, we nodded. And since the festival was so tiny, there were no first nights 401. A secretary answered. “May I help you? Mr Herman? He´s out to lunch. Which lady
either, no red carpets, no flashing cameras, but just a colourful paper bag with three in- ... Ah, the German actress, yes, she left 20 minutes ago.” I walked up the Avenue of the
vitations: 1. For tasting a brand of vodka (whose name so deliberately sounded Russian Americas to Central Park. And yes, there she was sitting, on a park bench at the pond,
that it could never really come from there). 2. For a free visit to the New York zoo and 3. the pond from “all the films”. “Well, how did it go? Are you with his agency?” She was
For a genuine film party! At least, the text on the ticket claimed, it was about the latest looking at the swans. “No, I didn’t want to be.” “Why?” Coco hesitated, then she said
film by Sofia Coppola. “Sofia Coppola? Heavens! I cannot show up there like this.” Coco clearly and decisively: “I didn’t like him.” She was looking again at the swans. They
looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, eyed by long-haired Super 8 actors. “I at least were swimming in circles and cleaning their feathers. “Hey, you are looking great with
have to get a handbag.” Coco combed her hair with a parting towards the left. “Coco, your new handbag.” She looked up. “Yes … really? It is vintage.” And then, with a firm
these are preview dates. There will only be lighting engineers and people handling ca- voice: “Now I only have to buy a hat to match. And a scarf. Are you coming along?”
bles.” “And agents, certainly.” Coco tried out a bob, arranged bangs, then she mussed “Well, sure.” “You know, Benne, Central Park, it is like in the films”. She closed her eyes
everything again. “Anything but long hair”, she groaned. The film party took place in the and deeply inhaled the air.

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