The first trailer for the drama series “Other People’s Money” makes its debut, as it premieres at the Berlin Film Festival. In an exclusive interview, EbMaster spoke to the producers and the creator-showrunner about the creation process behind this gripping show that draws inspiration from the true events of the largest tax fraud ever uncovered in European history. Beta Film takes care of international sales for the series worldwide.
The opening four installments of “Other People’s Money” are set to debut in Berlin for the first time at 3:30 PM on February 20, gracing the grand stage of the esteemed Zoo Palast Cinema. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the cast and crew.
The collaboration for this project initiated when Michael Polle from X Filme Creative Pool, renowned for “Babylon Berlin,” teamed up with Ole Søndberg from True Content Entertainment, who is known for working on “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Together, they aimed to narrate the authentic account of a criminal syndicate composed of affluent investors, bankers, and lawyers, who orchestrated the theft of approximately 146 billion euros ($150 billion) from European taxpayers.
The plan was to make this series both grounded in real-life incidents and highly engaging,” Polle explained, and with that objective in mind, he endeavored to convince Jan Schomburg, a longtime acquaintance of his for roughly 20 years, to take on the roles of creator and executive producer for the show.
The movie ‘Other People’s Money’ is influenced by the investigative works of a group of European journalists, notably Oliver Schröm’s ‘The CumEx Files’ and ‘The Scholz File,’ as well as research by Christian Salewski, and ‘The Great Tax Scandal’ by Niels Fastrup and Thomas G. Svaneborg.
Polle elaborated that the task at hand was twofold: delve deeply into the specifics of the investigations, while simultaneously crafting a narrative that resonates universally. His rationale being that fundamentally, “we’re all affected by this entire scandal, regardless of where we are in the world.
He states: “There was no point in creating a deep, scholarly series… It required an element that would make viewers say, ‘I can’t wait to see the next episode!’
Søndberg stated: “We decided that this tale shouldn’t be a full-blown comedy, yet it was crucial to incorporate a specific type of humor throughout. The humor needed to be subtle and evoke a constant, quiet smirk rather than outright laughter.” Schomburg chimed in: “The term we frequently used was ‘absurdity’.”
Søndberg said the story shouldn’t be overly funny, but it should have a certain type of humor that makes you smile quietly. Schomburg mentioned they often used the word ‘absurd’ to describe this kind of humor.
Schomburg implies that his selection might be due to the fact that “My body of work spans a wide range, allowing me to create artistic films such as ‘Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,’ while also producing humorous sketches for German television.
Before diving into this project, I made it clear that I had two non-negotiable guidelines. Firstly, I wanted to ensure everyone grasped the underlying structures of this fraud, not just the surface level. Secondly, I vowed to never portray wealthy individuals in an appealing or glamorous manner.
He mentions that he had to navigate through a “deluge of content” and his primary goal was to devise a method to transform this extraordinary material into a narrative that would not only stimulate the mind, but also resonate emotionally with the viewers.
One task was to simplify the complex financial jargon and strategies involved in the fraud so that they could be easily grasped. “We wanted to make it comprehensible for our audience, and considering the sheer magnitude of the fraud, this was crucial,” Schomburg explains. “To help visualize this, we sought out analogies. It amounted to nearly 150 billion euros – a figure that’s hard for many to comprehend. So, we used an analogy: Imagine a network of extremely wealthy individuals approaching every European citizen and asking for 326 euros each – from children to the elderly, homeless people, teachers, everyone. In essence, this amount is something we can all relate to.
The scandal has deeper roots, still relevant today, as Schomburg notes. Steve Bannon, a former strategist of Donald Trump, suggests that one significant factor leading to Trump’s election initially was the widespread discontent in society following the 2008 financial crisis, where no one was held responsible. During his research, what stood out to Schomburg was that in this instance, prosecutors successfully brought people to account and made a difference – an aspect that resonated deeply with him because it represented a crucial concept: justice being served and change being initiated.
He notes: “It’s also evident, particularly now, that wealthy individuals and billionaires hold significant sway over politics. They manipulate legislation, hinder stricter control, engage in fraudulent activities without a second thought, take our money, and believe they are entitled to do so. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to say, ‘No, it isn’t.’ I believe these powerful forces were crucial for me to expose.
Polle emphasizes that it’s crucial to underscore that both prosecutors and journalists took a stand for the average citizen, even when it seemed hopeless. “Jan stated, ‘It’s essential to maintain an optimistic perspective on this entire narrative because there are heroes in the ‘CumEx’ scandal saga, and I wholeheartedly concur with this viewpoint. That’s why this story is so uplifting, and I hope it motivates people to strive for what is honorable and just.’
An unexpected factor shaping the series is that it bears resemblance to romantic comedies when considering the ‘character configuration,’ as Schomburg points out, because both narratives can be seen as love triangles. He found it intriguing to present these tales in a romantic context. Additionally, one of the storylines shows traces of Shakespearean influence, featuring an elderly patriarch, who is a renowned tax lawyer, mentoring a young attorney before ultimately betraying him, reminiscent of certain plays by the Bard.
Polle notes that Dustin Loose, Kaspar Munk, along with cinematographers Clemens Baumeister and Laust Trier Mørk, were instrumental in shaping the visual style of the series.
This series features Lisa Wagner, Karen-Lise Mynster, Justus von Dohnanyi, Niels Strunk, David Dencik, and Fabian Hinrichs as its main stars. It is jointly produced by X Filme Creative Pool, True Content Entertainment, EPO- Film, with additional support from a consortium of European public broadcasters known as New8 (comprising NRK, SVT, RUV, YLE, NPO, VRT, DR, and ZDF). Funding for the series is provided by Fisa+, GMPF, the European Union, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Nordvisions Fund, Croatian Audiovisual Center, among others. The broadcasters commissioning this production are ZDF and DR in collaboration with New8.
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2025-02-05 11:17