Der Tod ist ein Arschloch
Michael Schwarz
Death and goodbyes are still taboo subjects for many of us, including those from the boomer generation. Why do we still find it so difficult to talk about it? Berlin mortician Eric Wrede and his team have been trying for around ten years to get death out of the taboo zone - with less reservations, more honesty and empathy. In doing so, they are following in the tradition of Fritz and David Roth, the pioneers of new forms of funeral services. For Eric and his team, the deceased are not just a job, and mourners are not just customers. Wrede - also known for his podcast “The End” and the book of the same name - values taking time for the bereaved and taking their concerns seriously. He is not interested in traditional coffin sales; there is only one model available at cost price. Every case is different and individual - and when a fatally ill friend asks them to accompany her, the professionals reach their personal limits. The Mainz director Michael Schwarz came into contact with the subject of dying through the unexpected death of the protagonist of an earlier film and has made an important documentary about it.
24 April 2025
18:30 h, Esplanade im Festivalzentrum
More information
| Direction | Michael Schwarz |
| Country | Deutschland |
| Year | 2025 |
| Duration | 79 min |
| Language | Deutsch |
| Language version | OV |
| Production | Alexander Griesser, Michael Schwarz |
| Camera | Alexander Griesser |
| Script | Michael Schwarz |
| Editing | Melanie Dietz |
| Sound | David Rudolph, Nestor Clavería |
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Pressestimmen
„When you spend a day with Eric Wrede (...), death loses much of its horror.“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
ÜBER DEN REGISSEUR
Born in Nuremberg in 1979. After leaving school, Michael Schwarz worked on numerous film and television productions. He then went on to study film and theater studies in Mainz, followed by studies at the film class of the Kunsthochschule Mainz. In 2011/12 he was a master student of Prof. Dr. Harald Schleicher. Since then, Michael Schwarz has worked as a freelance director, author and producer. Together with cameraman and producer Alexander Griesser, he founded the production company nachtschwärmerfilm in 2009. Their productions have received numerous awards and have been presented at over 200 national and international festivals, with six films receiving awards from the German Film and Media Rating.
DER REGISSEUR ÜBER DEN FILM
“The death of Jasmin, a homeless protagonist of our documentary “INNdependence” (MOP 2021), which came as a complete surprise to me, had a lasting effect on me in mid-2020. Her sister, who hadn't had any contact with Jasmin for years, got in touch with me to find out what kind of person Jasmin was to me so shortly before her death. Through these intimate conversations, I became part of this doomed family and attended Jasmin's social funeral as one of only seven mourners - a very sobering, depressing personal experience. This unexpected preoccupation with death reminded me of a reading I attended in 2018. There, Eric Wrede presented his book “The End”, in which he propagates a new, different way of dealing with death and grief... Death is definitely an asshole, but if you spend more time with Eric and his team, it loses some of its horror - that's exactly what we want to achieve with our viewers.”
IN ATTENDANCE OF THE DIRECTOR AND THE DOP
HESSIAN PREMIERE
Regional Feature Film Program
