Director Ulrike Ottinger said the vampire film "The Blood Countess" featuring Isabelle Huppert lost as much as 20 minutes against her wishes.
The production, which world-premiered at the Berlinale in February, was forced to undergo significant shortening.
“The film originally had a wonderful rhythm, exactly as it was. Then I began cutting it because everyone was forcing me to. Once I started shortening it, the rhythm no longer worked,” Ottinger said. Ottinger noted that while the final version is perfect from her perspective, reworking it was a major undertaking.
She described the project as the most expensive film she has ever produced. The production team exceeded 100 people, though Ottinger only received 30 shooting days despite requesting 40.
“What makes it so expensive today are these extremely extensive safety measures. Some of them are very important, but a great many are completely excessive, senseless and bureaucratic,” Ottinger said. Ottinger previously produced high-quality films for between €2.5 million and €3 million ($2.9 million–$3.5 million), but she stated that meeting current requirements now requires a budget of at least €7 million to €8 million ($8 million–$9.2 million).
“That’s also why I no longer produce my own films,” Ottinger said. Ottinger said Isabelle Huppert remained committed to the project for 20 years.
“What I need in my film are actors who can always play something different,” Ottinger said. Tetsuya Shibuya noted that the film even includes a vegetarian vampire.
“Perhaps when you get older, critics no longer dare to attack you quite so readily,” Ottinger said.
The Tokyo retrospective also features “Under Snow” (2011) and “Ticket of No Return,” which is the first part of her Berlin Trilogy.
Regarding German film funding, Wurm said, “It probably sounds as though German film funding is absolutely wonderful. That impression would only be half right.” Since 1 January 2025, the federal film board, the FFA, has automatically allocated production support based on festival success and admissions.
Wurm said, “This is a funding model geared toward a small number of films receiving large amounts of money. That’s not beneficial for the breadth of the film landscape.” Wurm added that the Forum is not currently on the reference list, meaning films screened there do not receive this funding.
“For the diversity of the film landscape, I would always argue for the opposite, namely funding many films, including small and unseen ones,” Wurm said.
Wurm said of filmmakers from abroad, “What’s important isn’t your passport. What’s important is that you’re working predominantly with a German production company.”
