Leonie Benesch

Hamburg native Leonie Benesch is considered one of the biggest talents on the German cinema scene. She has already won the German Film Award twice, for her roles in „Lehrerzimmer“ and „September 5“. This year at FILM OHNE GRENZEN, the versatile actress is presenting a film that has pushed her to the limits of her own endurance. In „Heldin“, she plays a nurse working shifts in a hospital.

From Ralf Hermersdorfer

Leonie, with this film you have taken on a completely different, very emotional subject, in addition to the intense roles you have already had before. What exactly attracted you to this leading role as a nurse?

What really appealed to me was the accuracy of the script. Petra Volpe, the director and screenwriter, knew exactly which world she wanted to tell. All the patients were very clearly and lovingly drawn. The medical sequences of events were also very precisely described and I really wanted to learn things as if I had been doing nothing else for 15 years. That's a great challenge as an actress. And then this one movie is a kind of declaration of love, almost a hymn to this profession. And another decisive argument for me was that Judith Kaufmann did the camera work, which I really appreciate. I've already worked with her on „Lehrerzimmer“.

What strikes one is that you portray everyday nursing care realistically, it almost has a documentary effect. How should one imagine the preparation for such a very complex role?

It's always a question of what kind of movie you want to make. And Petras Volpe's aim from the outset was to tell the story of a shift in a hospital as realistically as possible. And of course she was very precise about the dramaturgical arc. Which patient is on when? When does it escalate? And, of course, it was important for me to learn how nursing staff move, what hand movements are important and how naturally they move. It's a totally movement-focused role, a character who never stands still. And the camera as a supporting element never stands still either. This ward corridor should have something of an ice rink on which this figure whirls back and forth, out of the rooms and back in again, into the nursing room and back again. It all made a lot of sense to me beforehand. And as preparation, I interned at a hospital near Basel and skated five shifts. I took a close look at how the nursing staff talk to each other, how they talk to different patients. What is the focus? Which actions are important, what exactly do they look like? Because everything is routine. Everyone knows this from home, when you simply know where the light switch is in the dark. That's exactly what had to be inherent in every movement I made in the film. And that only worked with practice. I had everything explained and shown to me, everything that was possible. I was also allowed to take medical equipment back to the apartment where I was staying in Zurich. Every night I put a lot of tubes together and mixed medication and practiced these sequences.

Filming took place over six weeks, in a hospital as a self-contained space. There are hardly any exterior shots where you could perhaps shift stories to a second level. The focus is consistently on you, which is of course also an immense pressure. How should we imagine this compressed work on such a set?

We had two floors, one with the station and one for the make-up, costume, production management and the inventory. I really like it when it's just one location because you know where everything is. We were incredibly well organized and finished every day at least an hour before the scheduled end of shooting. That has a lot to do with the precise preparation of all the departments and also your own discipline. I always find it very pleasant to go home earlier than planned. There are a lot of people in the industry who think it's great to work a lot of overtime when shooting a movie, but that annoys everyone on set because everyone is overtired and their motivation continues to drop. And I don't know about the pressure, I think playing a leading role like that is often clearly defined, the responsibility then weighs on you in a completely different way. The nice thing about it is that you have completely different time and space to try things out and become absorbed in the role. I think the pressure is much greater when you're only there for one or two days for a supporting role, because you have to think your way into it much more quickly. What is the language, what are the other roles like, what is the actual world in which the shoot takes place? You don't really have the time you need to familiarize yourself with everything.

It is a well-known phenomenon that caregivers in inpatient facilities are confronted with many different clinical pictures where they have to make a decision from one second to the next. How do you maintain a professional overview in order to be able to provide professional help at all?

That's exactly what I totally admire. With the film, we wanted to show the complexity of how multi-layered this profession is and that the staff are all highly qualified medically. What we all don't realize is that the first and last person in our lives is probably a nurse. And these are people who have to endure a lot emotionally, from patients to their relatives. And then to function under this pressure and make the right decisions. The nurses probably contribute more to healing than the doctors because they are simply at the bedside all the time. Doctors are of course indispensable, but they are usually only on ward rounds once a day, but the people who notice everything and get to know the people and their history are the nurses. And yes, it's comparable to high-performance sport, you really are challenged in every respect. And not just physically, but also mentally. It's a great job, but unfortunately the circumstances are extreme.

In terms of society as a whole, there will be a shortage of around a quarter of a million nurses in the next few years. How can you inspire potential applicants for such a profession with this negative attitude?

A few years ago, there was an impending shortage of pilots in Switzerland. And what was the consequence? The Swiss government immediately stepped in, there were huge pay rises, lots of other incentives, there was further training and much more. Measures were simply taken immediately. Petra Volpe and I are convinced that, on the other hand, this is also a question of sexism, because 80 percent of nursing staff are female and aviation is a rather male-dominated profession. In the end, the question remains: what do you focus on and what do you consider valuable? And that's exactly why Petra wanted to make this film, to appreciate the profession and to show a wider audience what the nursing crisis actually means, because the word is so easy to say. But what does it actually mean when so many nurses are missing? The corridors on the wards will be empty, patients will die because no one can look after them. I see no reason why it should be impossible to recruit more people. Nursing has been sounding the alarm for over ten years and nothing is happening.

The motto of this year's Film without Borders festival is „All human“. And your film in particular is a gripping plea for this. How can we continue to inspire society for more humanity in the future?

I think this is a question that is currently occupying a large part of the world. The problem starts for everyone in everyday life. How do you treat a person? I have to admit that I myself get angry quickly when people treat me disrespectfully. I find it fascinating that we are regressing a bit to the „survival of the fittest“, as long as we save ourselves first. We are ignoring the fact that the quality that has brought us humans this far in evolutionary terms is the ability to reach out to one another and work together to achieve something. I don't know how we can intensify this again. But, for example, I would be delighted if more money were invested in youth centers and in projects where children from different backgrounds can come together. I think it's important that we don't disappear into our own little bubbles and only surround ourselves with like-minded people. Instead, we should remember that people are different and that this can be valuable for everyone.

Every year, the FILM WITHOUT BORDERS festival awards the Wolfgang Kohlhaase Scholarship for young filmmakers. You yourself have managed to carve out a brilliant career in a relatively short space of time. Do you perhaps have one or two tips for young professionals on what to look out for or what you have found to be absolutely useful in retrospect?

I had my first film experience at the age of 14 and my first real movie at 17. Now I'm 34, that's already half my life. That all sounds very glamorous and glitzy, but you only hear about actors when things are going really well. And there were tough years when it was really difficult for me too. And nobody can prepare you for that. My tip would actually be to try to keep your living costs as low as possible so that you have to work as little as possible on the side. If a second job like that really swallows you up because you have to pay the rent somehow, then you won't have your head free to make progress in your dream job. But I know from my own experience that it's easier said than done. Another aspect would be to find people who are like you. I met my current agent when I was 19 and we've been working together like a tight-knit team ever since. I can't really imagine a life in this industry without her, because we think similarly and we want to continue on this path together, because it's definitely not easy. So in summary, from my point of view it's really all about these points: Keeping the cost of living low, building a good team and finding like-minded people. There are so many things in the industry that drive you crazy, that are unfair, that are financially stupid and that scare you. But you should pick out the things that inspire you, that you find beautiful. And keep reminding yourself why you're there and what the things are that give you hope for the future. I think that's incredibly important.

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Photo: Tobis Film

Photo: Robin Kater