The Last Giants – Movie, Premiere

The Last Giants – 90 Min runtime, Premiere 16 September 2009 in Berlin

Text and Photography: Dennis Köchling, Tarifa volunteer

When the alarm went off at 7 AM Tuesday morning, Tarfia wasn't on its best behavior as it rained on the exit sign pointing towards Malaga. Upon arriving at the airport, the car served as a source of panic as I noticed that my boarding pass wasn't where I thought it was. The helpful Easyjet employee could fix the problem, though, and then it was off to the capital city of Germany.

A taxi drove us to Katharina's Hotel, and after checking in, we had a bite to eat at Hackscher Market as the daylight slowly faded. I made my way to my bed, and Katharina prepared herself for the vast number of questions that awaited her the following day.

Wednesday is reserved for all the media representatives, and it is one they use extensively. Katharina's day began at 10 AM under the guise of the N-TV Studio in Berlin where she got prepared for the live set-up. After that, she would be brought into a deserted room by a technician where she would be fitted with an earpiece and microphone as she waited for her assignment. While it was difficult for her not to concentrate on the pilot whales displayed on the large monitors underneath the camera's live feed, Barbara Löblein of  Progress films stood by and adjusted her blouse and scarf one last time. A voice with a Cologne accent buzzed in her ear to tell her that she would be on air in a few seconds. The employees of Progress films followed the interview in their office and confirmed afterwards that everything went well.

Subsequently, the director – Daniele Grieco – was being interviewed by the Spanish news agency “efe”, divulging all the details of the shoot and her person experiences. This interview was made available to the entire Spanish press.

Now it's the ARD / MDR's turn. A recording was made in the Sealife Berlin for the “Brisant” program with all the water and fish they could afford to get in the shot swimming in the background. The last questions could now be answered in the sunny atmosphere outside on the Spree river. After this marathon, Director Jürgen Haase invited Katharina to dinner, and she was mostly looking forward to seeing Herwarth Voigtmann, with whom she had shared wonderful whale experiences over the last 8 years.

She was interrupted time and time again by her mobile, which was constantly ringing with questions from television stations asking for interviews. One of them, for example, was RTL, which announced its presence directly during the evening. 

The evening of the premiere is now here, and as I step into the Titanium-Palast in Steglitz, I notice Katharina already in the spotlight of the RTL camera, and it wouldn't be the last ones.

Daniele is also sitting at the table, engrossed in an interview for the Malaysian Press.

And as the last of the cameras begin to hum, the spectators gather in the movie hall. After all those in attendance are greeted by Professor Haase, the premiere begins.

During the introduction, I can hear the guests around me gasp as the film mercilessly calls attention to the difficult and shocking conditions of the Strait of Gibraltar. But there is also a joyful and entranced reaction to the fantastic images captured by Kathleen Herbst and Herwarth Voigtmann's camera team, one which doesn't go unnoticed.

The silence during the end credits is met with roaring applause. There is excitement written all over the visitors' faces.

 

A moving closing statement by Professor Haase follows, and the whole team assembles together one more time.

After all the final questions are answered in front of the hall and the last recordings are made, the focus is then turned towards the “Clärchen's Ballroom”, where success calls for a drink and the evening fades away in a common sense of togetherness. Katharina is happy to have seen many familiar faces again; former course participants, old acquaintances, and friends who helped as volunteers, such as Sebastian Kanzler (graphic design), Mario Müller and Heike Pahlow (webmaster www.firmm.org) or Jürg Brack (webmaster www.dolphinresort.org).

 

On Thursday, I devoted time to visiting friends and family in Berlin and the surrounding areas. With some friends of the foundation Katharina visited the Ozeaneum in Straslund which was interesting and inspiring.

Friday began in the early morning hours with the return to the airport and back to Tarifa, where we were greeted again with Spanish rain after a couple of beautiful, sunny days. But it couldn't spoil the exciting and interesting experiences we witnessed at Daniele's artwork premiere and we are excited  to see what support and call to action the successful premiere will bring. One thing is for sure, though, it was absolutely touching!