Swiss director on "September 5" "Capturing the confinement in this room appealed to me"
The gripping thriller "September 5" tells the story of the terrorist attack during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich from the perspective of the media. blue News met Golden Globe-nominated Basel director Tim Fehlbaum for an interview.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- "September 5" is about the 1972 Munich Olympic bombing, in which 9 Israeli athletes were taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group "Black September".
- The oppressive thriller is staged like a chamber play and tells its story from the perspective of a group of sports journalists who report on the tragic events on location.
- The film was directed by the talented Basel-based director Tim Fehlbaum, whose work has been nominated in the "Best Motion Picture - Drama" category at the Golden Globes.
In the summer of 1972, the greatest tragedy in the history of the Olympic Games occurs in Munich. Two athletes are shot dead in a terrorist attack on the Israeli team and nine others are kidnapped as hostages.
This shocking event forms the starting point for the highly suspenseful thriller "September 5" by Tim Fehlbaum. However, the perspective that the Basel director chooses for his storytelling is rather unusual.
The story is told from the point of view of the media, more precisely from the broadcasting room of the US sports channel ABC Sports. The television journalists are faced with the difficult decision of how far they should and may go in their reporting. The result is an oppressive, atmospherically dense chamber play in which the central characters are exposed to constant unease.
"September 5" looks back on the assassination attempt at the 1972 Olympic Games.
Image: Constantin Film
The film raises moral questions from the perspective of US journalists. Also in the cast: Ben Chaplin (r.) and John Magaro (l.).
Image: Constantin Film
Tim Fehlbaum can hope to win an award at the Golden Globes. The Basel native's film is nominated in the "Best Drama" category.
Image: blue News
In an interview with actor Peter Sarsgaard, the two talk about the most important factors in a chamber drama.
Image: blue News
"September 5" looks back on the assassination attempt at the 1972 Olympic Games.
Image: Constantin Film
The film raises moral questions from the perspective of US journalists. Also in the cast: Ben Chaplin (r.) and John Magaro (l.).
Image: Constantin Film
Tim Fehlbaum can hope to win an award at the Golden Globes. The Basel native's film is nominated in the "Best Drama" category.
Image: blue News
In an interview with actor Peter Sarsgaard, the two talk about the most important factors in a chamber drama.
Image: blue News
In an interview with blue News, Fehlbaum, who also worked on the screenplay, explains what motivated him to tell his story from the perspective of the media and to what extent the film is also interesting from a moral and ethical point of view. Actor Peter Sarsgaard emphasizes how well the acting ensemble worked and how important this is for such a chamber drama.
The competition at the Golden Globes is strong
The career of the talented Basel filmmaker Tim Fehlbaum is remarkable. For his feature film debut "Hell", he was awarded the Zurich Film Prize and the Förderpreis Deutscher Film in 2011. His sci-fi drama "Tides" received four awards at the German Film Award LOLA in 2021. "September 5" is Fehlbaum's third directorial work and celebrated its world premiere in Venice, already causing an international stir.
The film's nomination at the prestigious Golden Globe Awards, which will be held for the 82nd time on the night of January 5-6, is a huge accolade for the Swiss director. The outstanding thriller is nominated in the "Best Motion Picture - Drama" category. It is competing with the Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown", the Vatican thriller "Conclave", the sci-fi spectacle "Dune: Part Two", the drama "Nickel Boys" and the monumental epic "The Brutalist" for the prestigious film prize.
An overview of all categories and nominations can be found here.
"September 5" opens in cinemas in German-speaking Switzerland on January 9.
