Nathaniel, 10, closes his eyes, straightens his back and holds his breath before diving backwards from the reinforced steel roof of a stunt car. He is one of the seventy-five children aged 6 to 16 who take part in the workshops held in a fake volcano crater, in the “film park”, adjoining the mythical Babelsberg studios located at the gates of Berlin, which have since marked more than a century of film history. For stuntmen in Germany, these workshops are a godsend. Because their activity has been slowing down since the strike of actors and screenwriters in Hollywood which freezes the production of films, all over the world.
Nathaniel, who dreams of being part of a James Bond film one day, has signed up with his 6-year-old little sister Amelia for his courses where adrenaline is guaranteed. “When you fall, you have to tuck your chin in, stiffen your back like a board, cross your arms in front of your chest, then let go,” says Nathaniel, summarizing the lesson he has just learned. Just before, blue mattresses stacked on top of each other received the young schoolboy. His first attempt at being a hero earned him the congratulations of two burly men.
“All workshop sessions are sold out this summer,” says Babelsberg stunt team leader Martin Lederer, 40. This is timely because his team, which has participated in the realization of blockbusters like Matrix, John Wick and Hunger Games in recent years, has been idle since the paralysis of Hollywood which had not known such a social movement since 1960. ” It’s as if someone had pressed the pause button, ”summarizes AFP Lederer. “It’s much calmer then just after the pandemic, when people were making up for lost time and we were seeing a boom” in activity, he adds.
Kids heading to the amusement park near Babelsberg Studios line up to learn the basics of fake fights and fake falls. Workshops for children are included in the entrance price. For Katja Pickbrenner, 44 and a stunt performer for two decades, training young people during the summer holidays is a pleasant change from her usual job. While she remained active thanks to stunt shows and workshops for children, some of her colleagues sank into depression when they saw their film activity dry up. “It’s really sink or swim,” she comments.
Babelsberg’s stunt team works for many German and international production companies, as well as Babelsberg Studios, which describes itself as the world’s oldest film studio, established in 1912. Despite Steven’s big-budget productions Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino In recent years, Studio Babelsberg has been going through difficult times, exacerbated by strikes in Hollywood.
The lack of activity has led the studio to announce partial unemployment programs for 40% of its workforce from September 1, in order to avoid massive layoffs. For Kathleen Richter, aged 41 and mother of 4 children, the Babelsberg workshops are in any case the ideal leisure time during the summer school holidays. “My kids are quite athletic and they were really looking forward to it,” she says. “It’s great for them to learn how to fight and fall without hurting themselves and other people,” she adds.
Vivian, 10, still thrilled after her third attempt at falling off a car roof, says she would like to be an actress when she grows up. And according to her, playing the daredevil is a good start to developing the courage necessary for this work.
