Tommy Krappweis' fantasy movie, which was largely filmed at MMC Studios, will be shown on TV for the first time on December 26.
All-round talent Tommy Krappweis ("RTL Samstag Nacht") knows what makes young hearts beat faster. In 2009, the "Bernd das Brot" creator succeeded with the exciting fantasy trilogy "Mara und der Feuerbringer," a much-acclaimed novel success, the first volume of which he adapted for the cinema for the first time in 2013 as director and screenwriter. Large parts of the spectacular and unusual adventure full of humor, action and fantasy were filmed at MMC Studios in Cologne.
With a first-class cast including Jan Josef Liefers ("Tatort"), Esther Schweins ("Die Rache der Wanderhure"), Christoph Maria Herbst ("Er ist wieder da") and Eva Habemann ("Ossi's Eleven"), this fantasy movie offers plenty of humor, dreamlike sequences and great surprise effects.
RTL will show the magical novel adaptation "Mara and the Firebringer" on Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016 at 12:35 p.m. in a free TV premiere.
Content:
Fourteen-year-old Mara (Lilian Prent) doesn't have it easy. Because of her dreaminess, the girl is considered an outsider in her school, but Mara just wants to be a normal teenager. Again and again, Mara has visions that suggest the end of the world. Soon it becomes clear that the girl is really a seer and the feared twilight of the gods, called Ragnarok, is imminent. Together with the oddball university professor Dr. Reinhold Weissinger (Jan Josef Liefers), she finally sets out to save the world. The adventure holds some mysterious events around a Firebringer, which turn Mara's life fundamentally upside down ...
Production Notes:
"Mara and the Firebringer" is a thrilling fantasy experience. Genre veteran John P. Nugent ("The Matrix," "The Chronicles of Narnia," "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) is responsible for the special effects, breathing life into another fire creature after Tolkien's "Balrog.
The fantasy adventure was produced by Rat Pack Filmproduktion/Christian Becker in co-production with RTL Television GmbH and in cooperation with bumm film GmbH, supported by FFF Bayern, Filmstiftung NRW, FFA and DFFF.
Filming took place at MMC Studios in Cologne, in Munich and in Bavaria. On July 15, 2013, the first take for the production was made at MMC Studios. As one of the largest production facilities in Europe, ideal conditions are found here for a spectacular fantasy novel adaptation. At 26 meters, the 2,000 square meter MMC Studio 53 has a world record height. The studio was therefore ideally suited for the action scenes on a volcano.
On the spot were selected by the MMC Art Department built two impressive sets based on the set design by Albert Jupé - firstly, the volcano with a 900 square meter landscape with real lava rock from the volcanic Eifel and a 13 meter high and 110 meter long green screen that spanned this set, and secondly, a 12 x 12 x 6 meter stalactite cave in which the scheming demigod Loki (Christoph Maria Herbst) is punished by the gods in the film.
The dimensions of MMC Studio 53 with its approximately 1,500 square meter green screen amazed even the internationally experienced VFX supervisor John P. Nugent: "I've never seen a studio with such a large green screen as here. I'm very, very impressed and I think it's great that this exists here in Germany."
From MMC's side, the shoot in Cologne was supervised by Bastie Griese (Managing Director MMC Movies) and Hendrik Labuhn (Account Manager of the MMC Art Department).
Photo: Loki (Christoph Maria Herbst), Sigyn (Eva Habermann), Mara Lorbeer (Lilian Prent, r.) © RTL
