Society is in a constant state of flux and with it the expectations of social role models are changing. Where men used to have to be strong as a matter of course, deal with technology and provide for the family as the sole breadwinner, rigid gender roles have now been broken down. If traditional roles put too much pressure on men, they can even make them ill.
But what defines men today, or what is actually masculine?
The documentary “Männer” presents five different young men and their definition of masculinity. Our camera teams accompanied the protagonists over an extended period of time to show their everyday lives and how they see themselves as men. How do these different people deal with their privileges and weaknesses?
Is it masculine to always be in control or is it masculine to sometimes lose it?
the production
Together with 8 students, we set up a one-year film project. We focused on current, socio-critical issues when choosing the topic.
The production itself presented us with a number of challenges: Corona repeatedly delayed filming. Due to relocations and the choice of protagonists, we traveled all over Germany. The effort and time pressure were high and we had to maintain the perfect balance between the professionalism of a documentary and the natural spontaneity of the protagonists.
the filming
The filming took us to a wide variety of locations. Sometimes we had to react to new lighting and space conditions in a matter of seconds.
My job mainly consisted of extensive camera work. With the bulky rig on my shoulders as the main camera, I not only had to constantly capture the protagonists, but also give instructions to the other handheld camera operators.
As I was responsible for ensuring continuity in the camera work of all the operators, I visited the teams during the shoot and held regular consultations with them.
trailer
behind the scenes
COMING SOON…