0:00:03.783,0:00:09.263
[Soft music.]

0:00:09.263,0:00:10.653
And action!

0:00:10.653,0:00:11.885
It's huge.

0:00:11.885,0:00:12.995
It's mind blowing.

0:00:12.995,0:00:15.516
I have to keep reminding myself[br]that they're not real.

0:00:15.516,0:00:18.574
It's like a historical movie, actually,[br]what we are doing here.

0:00:18.574,0:00:23.519
This is 90 percent of my filming[br]experience, here?

0:00:23.519,0:00:25.169
Is like this.

0:00:25.169,0:00:28.571
Come over here to do a show[br]set in Williamsburg,

0:00:28.571,0:00:34.655
to do it in Berlin, it kind of, [br]you know, plays with my head.

0:00:34.655,0:00:41.198
A series in Yiddish, for me also,[br]personally, I think it's a great thing.

0:00:41.198,0:00:44.026
Going to be dealing with a language[br]that no one understands.

0:00:44.026,0:00:47.258
I mean, we're dealing with costumes[br]and rituals no one understands.

0:00:47.258,0:00:50.785
But the essence of what's happening,[br]that's universally understood.

0:00:50.785,0:00:55.505
This very beautiful and unique story

0:00:55.505,0:00:59.355
that shows kind of like, both worlds.

0:00:59.355,0:01:04.385
I don't think it's a story about[br]the existence of God, or something.

0:01:04.385,0:01:10.807
It's more about...the right to[br]have your voice.

0:01:10.807,0:01:13.537
And people like me never really[br]had that opportunity.

0:01:13.537,0:01:16.519
We never saw ourselves reflected back[br]in the stories being told

0:01:16.519,0:01:18.142
in popular culture.

0:01:18.142,0:01:20.787
So we didn't really know[br]how to create our own stories.

0:01:20.787,0:01:23.634
I think this is the first show, ever,[br]to accurately portray

0:01:23.634,0:01:25.356
the Hasidic community.

0:01:25.356,0:01:29.704
These are real people, and their[br]experiences are very universal,

0:01:29.704,0:01:31.371
and very relatable.

0:01:31.371,0:01:34.338
When the community watches it,[br]and there is somebody like me,

0:01:34.338,0:01:38.537
watching it, and sees, this girl[br]lived exactly like she lives.

0:01:38.537,0:01:42.952
And, she was able to muster[br]the courage to follow her dreams.

0:01:42.952,0:01:45.085
Maybe this girl can, too.

0:01:53.143,0:01:56.220
When I met Ann and Alexa,[br]and I became friends with them,

0:01:56.220,0:02:00.168
I realized, if anybody is ever going to[br]really be able to grasp

0:02:00.168,0:02:01.653
what the story is about,

0:02:01.653,0:02:03.555
and to really execute it in a way

0:02:03.555,0:02:06.403
that is going to have a [br]positive cultural impact,

0:02:06.403,0:02:07.853
it's these women.

0:02:07.853,0:02:09.972
After I met Deborah, [br]I read her book,

0:02:09.972,0:02:11.357
and I thought it was amazing.

0:02:11.357,0:02:14.357
I mean, I read it in one sitting.[br]I couldn't put it down.

0:02:14.357,0:02:16.592
And then, she said:

0:02:16.592,0:02:19.848
"Well, why don't you make my book[br]into a TV show?"

0:02:19.848,0:02:22.356
Anna and I wanted to make a show[br]for a while,

0:02:22.356,0:02:27.503
in which we could work through[br]a lot of the topics

0:02:27.503,0:02:31.738
we discuss a lot, especially[br]about being Jewish in Germany.

0:02:31.738,0:02:34.371
To me, the story is about[br]a young woman, who

0:02:34.371,0:02:37.057
is searching for herself,

0:02:37.057,0:02:39.807
and she is searching for[br]her community in the world.

0:02:39.807,0:02:42.408
Esther is a 19 year old girl.

0:02:42.408,0:02:46.441
She was born and raised in[br]Williamsburg, Brooklyn,

0:02:46.441,0:02:49.941
in the community called Satmar.

0:02:51.491,0:02:54.338
- Don't forget, Esty. [br]He speaks first.

0:02:54.338,0:02:58.221
She grows up in a very [br]religious neighborhood.

0:02:58.221,0:03:04.372
And, frees herself from an[br]unhappy arranged marriage,

0:03:04.372,0:03:06.024
and flees to Berlin.

0:03:06.024,0:03:10.184
Her story is unique, and romantic.

0:03:10.184,0:03:13.423
We just felt it was so different,[br]that somebody would leave

0:03:13.423,0:03:18.645
this very insular community[br]in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York,

0:03:18.645,0:03:22.255
and find their way here,[br]out of choice.

0:03:22.255,0:03:25.605
From a very young age,[br]she always felt very different.

0:03:25.605,0:03:28.242
She's always been told[br]that she is very different,

0:03:28.242,0:03:32.672
because of the fact that[br]she always has questions within her,

0:03:32.672,0:03:35.643
and she has that 'chutzpah,'[br]you can say.

0:03:36.223,0:03:40.706
The Satmar Jews are a[br]Hasidic community,

0:03:40.706,0:03:43.622
originally from the town of[br]Satu Mare, in Hungary.

0:03:43.622,0:03:47.673
They are mostly descendants[br]of Holocaust survivors, and

0:03:47.673,0:03:52.105
started by Holocaust survivors,[br]in New York, after the war.

0:03:52.105,0:03:54.606
This kind of makes them[br]a little bit different

0:03:54.606,0:03:56.890
than a lot of other[br]Hasidic communities,

0:03:56.890,0:04:00.774
because they really developed[br]what they were about, after the war,

0:04:00.774,0:04:02.154
and not before.

0:04:02.154,0:04:04.519
It is founded by people who are[br]struggling

0:04:04.519,0:04:06.996
with the most immense trauma[br]we can imagine.

0:04:06.996,0:04:10.155
For the first generation,

0:04:10.155,0:04:12.422
I would say even for the first[br]two generations,

0:04:12.422,0:04:14.488
this trauma was a very driving force

0:04:14.488,0:04:17.261
behind the ideological structures[br]of this community.

0:04:17.261,0:04:21.725
The Satmar community is also special,[br]in that Yiddish is their native language.

0:04:21.725,0:04:24.658
I think they can be credited,[br]to some degree,

0:04:24.658,0:04:26.614
with keeping Yiddish alive.

0:04:27.194,0:04:28.923
- But why Berlin?[br]- Think about it.

0:04:28.923,0:04:31.556
- What? [br]- Her crazy mama lives in Berlin!

0:04:31.556,0:04:35.310
It was very important to us,[br]to make changes in the present-day story,

0:04:35.310,0:04:38.077
from Deborah Feldman's real life.

0:04:38.077,0:04:40.942
Because she is a young woman,[br]she is a public figure,

0:04:40.942,0:04:44.689
she is a public intellectual,[br]and we wanted Esther's

0:04:44.689,0:04:49.042
Berlin life to be very different[br]from real Deborah's Berlin life.

0:04:49.042,0:04:51.956
So, in a sense, the flashbacks[br]are based on the book,

0:04:51.956,0:04:55.108
but the present-day story[br]is entirely made up.

0:04:57.348,0:05:00.208
You have to go beyond cliché,

0:05:00.208,0:05:03.908
beyond our projection[br]onto what the life might be

0:05:03.908,0:05:05.823
in a community like this.

0:05:05.823,0:05:09.857
It was very important to us[br]to get not just the look and feel

0:05:09.857,0:05:13.804
and costumes, and rituals,[br]and everything correct, but

0:05:13.804,0:05:19.774
to inhabit the ideas of[br]these characters' worlds,

0:05:19.774,0:05:21.675
in a way that felt authentic,

0:05:21.675,0:05:24.190
but also heightened,[br]because it's television.

0:05:24.190,0:05:26.958
I just, in general, feel like,[br]when you're showing

0:05:26.958,0:05:30.745
different communities,[br]especially communities on the margins,

0:05:30.745,0:05:33.755
you want to get the details right.

0:05:33.755,0:05:36.876
We knew it was so important[br]to get people on board,

0:05:36.876,0:05:40.790
not just as actors, but behind[br]and in front of the camera,

0:05:40.790,0:05:42.825
who are from this community.

0:05:42.825,0:05:46.440
So one of the first people we hired[br]was Eli Rosen,

0:05:46.440,0:05:52.907
who is an actor, translator,[br]and kind of specialist,

0:05:52.907,0:05:54.740
when it comes to Yiddish.

0:05:54.740,0:05:56.907
Eli Rosen was like our guide.

0:05:56.907,0:05:59.158
He was our spirit guide.

0:05:59.158,0:06:01.374
He not only translated the scripts,

0:06:01.374,0:06:03.809
he coached the actors in Yiddish,

0:06:03.809,0:06:06.244
he helped us with all the[br]cultural details,

0:06:06.244,0:06:08.527
and he played the rabbi.

0:06:08.527,0:06:11.841
When I was given the opportunity[br]to help ensure

0:06:11.841,0:06:14.990
that it was representative,[br]and that it is authentic,

0:06:14.990,0:06:20.191
um...I, uh...

0:06:20.191,0:06:21.587
jumped at it.

0:06:22.417,0:06:26.274
Directing the scenes[br]which are set within or

0:06:26.274,0:06:28.743
in the ultra-Orthodox world,

0:06:28.743,0:06:32.240
I would have been lost,[br]without this advice.

0:06:32.240,0:06:34.858
We had two research trips[br]to New York,

0:06:34.858,0:06:40.673
with our entire team,[br]to not just watch and look,

0:06:40.673,0:06:45.925
and touch everything we saw,[br]but we got access

0:06:45.925,0:06:48.844
to meeting people who are [br]still in this community.

0:06:48.844,0:06:53.540
We really tried to offer[br]our heads of department, as much access.

0:06:54.480,0:06:58.490
These trips, of course,[br]are like a hunt, for impressions,

0:06:58.490,0:07:01.442
for feeling atmosphere,

0:07:01.442,0:07:05.825
for just watching,[br]just taking things in.

0:07:05.825,0:07:08.444
It was a kind of[br]image-based research.

0:07:08.444,0:07:10.880
We looked around.[br]We took so many pictures.

0:07:10.880,0:07:14.625
And we tried to inhale this world

0:07:14.625,0:07:18.161
by the visual impressions we got.

0:07:18.161,0:07:20.275
While we were taken around New York,

0:07:20.275,0:07:23.958
we went on a tour of Williamsburg,[br]by an ex-Satmar woman,

0:07:23.958,0:07:27.045
who had grown up there,[br]she had her first child there,

0:07:27.045,0:07:29.307
and had been married, and everything.

0:07:29.307,0:07:32.693
She walked us through[br]a lot of Williamsburg,

0:07:32.693,0:07:35.812
and the traditions within[br]the exterior buildings.

0:07:35.812,0:07:38.824
Silke was taking lots of notes[br]for her world,

0:07:38.824,0:07:40.729
and I was taking lots of notes

0:07:40.729,0:07:43.527
for the characters[br]that I was going to be building.

0:07:43.527,0:07:47.843
We started shooting the past,[br]like the Williamsburg parts,

0:07:47.843,0:07:50.590
and then, we moved to Berlin.

0:07:50.590,0:07:54.312
So, suddenly, something felt different.

0:07:54.312,0:07:59.712
Also, it's moving from Yiddish to English,[br]and different outfits and makeup.

0:07:59.712,0:08:03.459
Suddenly, the hair -- and there was[br]so many different hairs, right?

0:08:03.459,0:08:06.809
There is bald, and there is this,[br]and there is the wig, and --

0:08:06.809,0:08:09.260
Esty has so many faces.

0:08:09.260,0:08:13.558
I had spoken to Deborah Feldman,[br]before we started the project,

0:08:13.558,0:08:16.842
about her personal experience[br]of transitioning

0:08:16.842,0:08:24.493
from Satmar modesty clothing,[br]to Western clothing.

0:08:24.493,0:08:28.010
She said it took her a long time,[br]and it was a slow process,

0:08:28.010,0:08:31.042
and she pushed herself [br]to experience

0:08:31.042,0:08:34.125
wearing T shirts, [br]and showing her arm,

0:08:34.125,0:08:35.975
and showing more flesh.

0:08:35.975,0:08:38.027
She said it did take a long time.

0:08:38.027,0:08:39.659
So, I wanted to show that.

0:08:39.659,0:08:42.594
I wanted to reflect Deborah's experience,[br]with Esther.

0:08:42.594,0:08:46.057
It was so hard to create, in a way,

0:08:46.057,0:08:49.274
a production that is much like[br]a period film,

0:08:49.274,0:08:51.776
that plays in the world of today.

0:08:52.306,0:08:55.892
To create the costumes for that[br]was a very big challenge.

0:08:55.892,0:08:58.449
Much like the sets that played[br]in two worlds,

0:08:58.449,0:09:00.830
we had costumes that played[br]in two worlds.

0:09:00.830,0:09:03.848
Plus, a character who has an arc,

0:09:03.848,0:09:08.610
not just in her character,[br]but in her looks, and in her clothes.

0:09:10.270,0:09:14.045
Our production designer[br]knew which exterior locations

0:09:14.045,0:09:15.929
we were going to be using there,

0:09:15.929,0:09:18.244
and built, made to measure, [br]the sets here,

0:09:18.244,0:09:20.461
to sync with those exteriors.

0:09:20.461,0:09:23.262
We have complicated locations,[br]because we shot

0:09:23.262,0:09:25.926
most of the New York part,[br]here in Berlin.

0:09:25.926,0:09:27.302
- Why Germany?

0:09:27.742,0:09:29.860
The other movies that I did before,

0:09:29.860,0:09:32.894
we came through the windows,

0:09:32.894,0:09:34.844
and now, we do everything inside.

0:09:34.844,0:09:38.747
So, maybe, this is a very first [br]experience, for me. Yeah.

0:09:38.747,0:09:42.128
Wolfgang is an incredible[br]cinematographer.

0:09:42.128,0:09:46.630
He has shot some of the most[br]incredible documentaries.

0:09:46.630,0:09:48.895
He is able to work with natural light.

0:09:48.895,0:09:50.859
He is able to work spontaneously.

0:09:50.859,0:09:54.045
We joke that he is like[br]the hand held steadicam.

0:09:54.045,0:09:57.211
He is good at combining[br]different kinds of light,

0:09:57.211,0:10:03.644
which, because we were matching[br]set interiors with real exteriors,

0:10:03.644,0:10:05.975
the lighting was very delicate,

0:10:05.975,0:10:09.346
and Wolfgang was [br]incredible at that.

0:10:09.346,0:10:11.533
When I watch material[br]in post production,

0:10:11.533,0:10:13.245
I think it is very difficult

0:10:13.245,0:10:15.496
to see what was inside,[br]and what was outside,

0:10:15.496,0:10:17.864
what was in New York,[br]and what was shot in Berlin.

0:10:18.154,0:10:19.646
- She's not here?

0:10:23.266,0:10:26.929
Shira Haas is a talent.[br]What a face.

0:10:26.929,0:10:31.308
I mean, she only needs[br]to move a part of her face,

0:10:31.308,0:10:34.875
and can make you cry,[br]or laugh.

0:10:34.875,0:10:40.924
Shira is just an[br]enormous, enormous actress.

0:10:40.924,0:10:45.111
So talented. So gifted.[br]Such a hard worker.

0:10:45.111,0:10:47.708
It was pure joy.

0:10:47.708,0:10:51.071
Every day, it was pure joy,[br]to work with Shira.

0:10:51.071,0:10:54.142
I think that what is really [br]beautiful in Esty,

0:10:54.142,0:10:56.443
I think that she [br]really really really,

0:10:56.443,0:10:59.860
even though she has been told[br]all her life that she is different,

0:10:59.860,0:11:02.277
even though she feels like[br]she is different,

0:11:02.277,0:11:06.060
she always tries very, very hard[br]to fit in. Really.

0:11:06.060,0:11:10.494
And, she really wants to find[br]that feeling of belonging and happiness.

0:11:10.494,0:11:12.945
We have, sort of, four main characters.

0:11:12.945,0:11:15.093
I mean, Esther is the main character,

0:11:15.093,0:11:18.093
but the other main characters[br]are all Satmar characters,

0:11:18.093,0:11:21.211
who are dealing with being[br]inside and outside at the same time.

0:11:21.211,0:11:25.960
The thing is, she was kicked out,[br]or left the community 15 years before.

0:11:25.960,0:11:32.843
It is that role, that attracted me,[br]really, to the whole thing.

0:11:32.843,0:11:37.161
With Amit Rahav, we had never[br]seen him act in another project.

0:11:37.161,0:11:39.511
We just saw him in the audition.

0:11:39.511,0:11:41.944
We were all just blown away[br]by him, as well.

0:11:41.944,0:11:45.013
He just kills it, in every scene.[br]He is a natural talent.

0:11:45.013,0:11:47.846
I think that he is just[br]very naive, and innocent.

0:11:47.846,0:11:51.094
It's not weakness.

0:11:51.094,0:11:54.676
He has one truth, and this is[br]the one truth he knows.

0:11:56.416,0:11:58.978
- It's around here somewhere.

0:11:58.978,0:12:01.231
- There it is!

0:12:01.571,0:12:04.110
- In this section. [br]Next to the fallen tree!

0:12:04.110,0:12:07.445
With Jeff Wilbusch,[br]a crazy thing happened.

0:12:07.445,0:12:10.243
Our German casting director,[br]said:

0:12:10.243,0:12:12.907
"Oh, we have this German actor,[br]who speaks Yiddish."

0:12:12.907,0:12:15.770
It was the end of the day,[br]and Alexa and I were really tired,

0:12:15.770,0:12:17.789
and we were sitting here in the office.

0:12:17.789,0:12:19.742
So, this guy comes in, [br]and we were like:

0:12:19.742,0:12:22.546
"Yeah, so this is what the show[br]is about," and everything.

0:12:22.546,0:12:24.151
He was like: [br]"This is my story."

0:12:24.151,0:12:25.613
And we were like:[br]"I'm sorry?"

0:12:25.613,0:12:26.803
And he was like:

0:12:26.803,0:12:28.494
"I am from the [br]Satmar community.

0:12:28.494,0:12:31.281
Yiddish is my native language.[br]This is my story."

0:12:31.281,0:12:34.094
I think Moishe is[br]a tragic role.

0:12:34.094,0:12:39.198
He has a lot of issues.

0:12:39.198,0:12:43.045
Personal issues,[br]that he needs to fight.

0:12:43.045,0:12:45.178
He is hunted.

0:12:45.178,0:12:47.594
And he is also a hunter.

0:12:47.594,0:12:51.781
So, he comes to[br]bring Esther back.

0:12:52.511,0:12:54.482
- Say it. Where is Esty?

0:12:55.242,0:12:58.079
- Where is Esty, telephone?

0:12:58.449,0:13:01.233
- You're crazy, Yanky.

0:13:11.473,0:13:13.568
[Aerosol spritzes.]

0:13:13.778,0:13:16.512
For us, the challenges[br]of creating this Satmar wedding,

0:13:16.512,0:13:19.946
here in Berlin, began with[br]finding enough extras,

0:13:19.946,0:13:21.645
who had big enough beards,

0:13:21.645,0:13:25.130
and were willing to get[br]all the hair and makeup.

0:13:25.130,0:13:28.069
The joke on this show[br]is that the men required

0:13:28.069,0:13:30.245
way more hair and makeup[br]than the women.

0:13:30.245,0:13:35.164
- Mine is grown now.[br]I wasn't allowed to cut it.

0:13:35.164,0:13:38.962
It's a very complex [br]cultural ritual.

0:13:38.962,0:13:41.714
We wanted to get it right.[br]There are a lot of details.

0:13:41.714,0:13:47.130
I'm just placing everybody in[br]sort of gender and age order,

0:13:47.130,0:13:51.395
as well as imaginary relationship[br]to the bride and groom.

0:13:51.395,0:13:53.449
So, there is kind of[br]a system to it.

0:13:53.449,0:13:55.522
It's incredible pageantry.

0:13:55.522,0:13:57.470
It's a moment of great joy[br]for the family.

0:13:57.470,0:13:59.864
But, they don't necessarily[br]express their joy,

0:13:59.864,0:14:02.380
the way other communities[br]express it.

0:14:02.380,0:14:05.012
I paid for everything.

0:14:05.012,0:14:07.279
So really, everything[br]has to work out.

0:14:07.279,0:14:11.814
I check everyone's behavior.

0:14:11.814,0:14:15.456
I am having fun,[br]but not too much.

0:14:15.456,0:14:17.235
It was very important for us,

0:14:17.235,0:14:19.497
to strike the right tone [br]with the wedding.

0:14:19.497,0:14:21.279
Then, also, we had[br]a hundred extras.

0:14:21.279,0:14:22.597
Costumes.

0:14:22.597,0:14:25.552
Well, the first challenge,[br]and the biggest challenge,

0:14:25.552,0:14:30.896
was to shoot it all[br]within two days. [Laughs]

0:14:30.896,0:14:33.863
For us, it was our[br]big Hollywood moment.

0:14:33.863,0:14:36.334
It was very hot[br]when we were shooting.

0:14:36.334,0:14:37.347
Unfortunately,

0:14:37.347,0:14:39.280
for all of the extras,[br]and actors,

0:14:39.280,0:14:41.065
they were wearing [br]a lot of costume,

0:14:41.065,0:14:42.547
and makeup, and hair,

0:14:42.547,0:14:44.480
in 100 degree Farhenheit[br]weather.

0:14:44.480,0:14:46.830
- Every day on set,[br]it's like this. Normal.

0:14:46.830,0:14:51.290
- That's what I'm used to.[br]- He's the king.

0:14:51.840,0:14:53.796
It's hot in there.

0:14:55.216,0:14:58.535
It's too hot. Please,[br]don't send me in there, again.

0:14:58.825,0:15:02.664
We had an incredibly talented[br]costume designer, Justine Seymour.

0:15:02.664,0:15:04.866
She has worked all over the world.

0:15:04.866,0:15:06.929
She is incredibly flexible.

0:15:06.929,0:15:10.165
It was challenging, because[br]some of the actual clothing

0:15:10.165,0:15:14.399
is not for sale here, so some things [br]were sourced in Williamsburg.

0:15:14.399,0:15:17.616
They wear these furry hats[br]called shtreimels.

0:15:17.616,0:15:21.733
We couldn't afford them.[br]They cost more than 1000 Euro each.

0:15:21.733,0:15:24.832
Each hat involves the fur[br]of six minks,

0:15:24.832,0:15:27.997
which seemed unnecessary to us.[br]We needed a lot of them.

0:15:27.997,0:15:31.950
So, a theater company in Hamburg[br]made them out of fake fur.

0:15:31.950,0:15:35.868
So, no minks were harmed[br]in the making of this TV show.

0:15:35.868,0:15:38.747
Right now, I am spraying[br]and stroking the shtreimel,

0:15:38.747,0:15:44.199
in order to make the fur flat,[br]and look more realistic and shiny.

0:15:44.199,0:15:46.865
We have had to fit them,[br]to make them work,

0:15:46.865,0:15:49.863
for every individual actor, yes.[br]Even all of the extras.

0:15:49.863,0:15:53.182
There is a tent, over there,[br]full of shtreimels.

0:15:53.182,0:15:55.379
We call it our shtreimel tent.

0:15:55.379,0:15:58.380
Our head of hair and makeup[br]department, Jens,

0:15:58.380,0:16:04.234
managed to create our peyots,[br]in a way that I've never seen on screen.

0:16:04.234,0:16:08.314
One hundred percent[br]the best peyots I've seen.

0:16:08.314,0:16:09.748
It's quite interesting.

0:16:09.748,0:16:11.797
Yesterday, we were laughing[br]very much.

0:16:11.797,0:16:15.182
When we had 150 Hasids outside,[br]it was a very funny picture.

0:16:15.182,0:16:18.510
Someone was saying: "Look![br]The Jews are back in Berlin."

0:16:18.510,0:16:31.586
[Music.]

0:16:35.186,0:16:38.534
We always talk about trying[br]to portray reality in film.

0:16:38.534,0:16:44.600
There is no more reality[br]than diversity.

0:16:44.600,0:16:47.580
That's -- just walk [br]across the street.

0:16:50.080,0:16:52.064
So, for Berlin,[br]we really wanted

0:16:52.064,0:16:55.348
to create a very colorful[br]lightness,

0:16:55.348,0:16:57.602
to the architecture we chose.

0:16:57.602,0:17:00.799
We kind of returned to [br]West Berlin.

0:17:00.799,0:17:05.149
Kind of little locations and areas,[br]and certain type of architecture,

0:17:05.149,0:17:09.066
that, um, were built in the[br]1970s and 1980s.

0:17:09.066,0:17:13.286
I wanted to have something[br]more with a freer space.

0:17:13.286,0:17:15.319
More rhythm in it.

0:17:16.128,0:17:21.449
Silke found a most incredible location,[br]right next to the Philharmonic.

0:17:21.449,0:17:24.982
No one had ever shot there, and[br]it was the perfect location.

0:17:24.982,0:17:28.599
It was for the music academy,[br]it was built in the 1960s.

0:17:28.599,0:17:35.284
It was supposed to be[br]a much lighter, open architecture,

0:17:35.284,0:17:39.299
post-war. It was about [br]communication.

0:17:39.299,0:17:41.769
It was about low hierarchy.

0:17:41.769,0:17:44.800
Um, mirrored by architecture.

0:17:45.790,0:17:49.281
We created our own[br]music academy, where

0:17:49.281,0:17:51.916
Jews and Muslims[br]are playing music together.

0:17:51.916,0:17:55.931
It's also this crazy,[br]post-colonial paradox.

0:17:55.931,0:17:58.215
Like, why are people[br]from the Middle East

0:17:58.215,0:18:00.233
playing German music,[br]at all?

0:18:00.233,0:18:05.033
It has this crazy bringing together[br]of unexpected worlds.

0:18:05.033,0:18:10.036
That gets to the spirit[br]of the show, on every level.

0:18:10.036,0:18:14.233
The concept of this music academy[br]is that different talented musicians

0:18:14.233,0:18:18.430
from all over the world come together,[br]to practice their specific instruments.

0:18:18.430,0:18:31.200
[Instrumental music.]

0:18:31.200,0:18:32.917
Television is aspirational.

0:18:32.917,0:18:35.867
We like the idea of showing[br]a version of Berlin

0:18:35.867,0:18:37.384
that was full of music,

0:18:37.384,0:18:41.834
that merged music from the past,[br]with young people from the future,

0:18:41.834,0:18:45.031
against this amazing backdrop.

0:18:47.461,0:18:49.766
There is a kind of [br]doubling back on history

0:18:49.766,0:18:51.298
in this show.

0:18:51.298,0:18:53.051
We have a Jewish character.

0:18:53.051,0:18:56.749
In order to escape [br]the confines of her own life,

0:18:56.749,0:19:02.269
she returns to the source of[br]her community's trauma.

0:19:02.269,0:19:04.683
- Do you see that villa?

0:19:04.683,0:19:07.801
- The conference, where the Nazis[br]decided to kill the Jews,

0:19:07.801,0:19:11.260
- in concentration camps,[br]took place in 1942 in that villa.

0:19:11.260,0:19:13.495
- And you swim in this lake?

0:19:13.495,0:19:16.076
- A lake is just a lake.

0:19:16.696,0:19:19.538
Of course, seeing her[br]being confronted

0:19:20.228,0:19:22.052
with our world,

0:19:22.052,0:19:25.551
it makes us question our world,[br]too.

0:19:26.511,0:19:32.252
Shooting a series in Yiddish,[br]um, in Berlin,

0:19:32.252,0:19:38.665
which has, ironically, become[br]a kind of new diaspora,

0:19:38.665,0:19:41.283
in the sense that you have[br]all these young Israeli Jews,

0:19:41.283,0:19:44.008
all these young American Jews,[br]coming back to Berlin,

0:19:44.008,0:19:46.819
this is a movement.[br]This is not the story of one person.

0:19:46.819,0:19:49.231
Um, it just fit.[br]It makes sense,

0:19:49.231,0:19:52.258
that this is the place[br]where we would rediscover this language,

0:19:52.258,0:19:54.500
outside of a religious context.

0:19:54.500,0:19:57.885
So there will be art in Yiddish.

0:19:57.885,0:20:00.486
There is theater in Yiddish, so.

0:20:00.486,0:20:03.752
But like, a real, Netflix series,[br]in Yiddish?

0:20:03.752,0:20:06.034
This is something amazing.

0:20:10.464,0:20:14.199
You know, Berlin really[br]wears its trauma on its sleeve.

0:20:14.199,0:20:17.899
It's what makes the city so raw,[br]and interesting.

0:20:17.899,0:20:22.951
Esty coming here, um,[br]she does the same in the city.

0:20:22.951,0:20:25.582
She adds to those layers.

0:20:25.582,0:20:31.416
That was really important for us:[br]to close that circle,

0:20:31.416,0:20:33.519
as we say in German.

0:20:33.519,0:20:49.485
[Soft instrumental music.]