Actress who played Christiane F. in theaters reveals behind the scenes of the controversial film: “I had never used drugs”

how did you get the role

“I was sitting on the patio eating an apple. A woman walks up to me and says, ‘Hey, we’re looking for skinny girls for a movie. Don’t you feel like taking the test?’ So I said, ‘Hmm. If necessary’. A typical Berliner, slightly grumpy. Later [do teste] I disappeared for a while and they were desperate looking for me. They moved me from the role of sister to that of Christiane. And they didn’t know where to find me. It was chaos. Later, I showed up barefoot and everything was resolved.”

The weather on set

“I’ve been asked if filming the feature was bad. I usually say no. It was very funny. Nobody understands, but it’s acting, you’re in a protected environment. There’s delicious food on set. I had an assistant who I could tell, in the middle of the night at the Bahnhof Zoo [a estação de metrô de Berlim usada como locação], ‘Can you bring me a chocolate with whipped cream?’ A dream, I wanted that life until today.”

the actual locations

“There was a moment when I realized reality. It was in the scene that we filmed with a long-distance lens [a equipe estava toda longe] at Kufürstentrabe, at the point of child prostitution. I was there and they told me, ‘Natja, a car is going to stop and you’re going to get in it’. ‘Right,’ I replied. I was waiting. A car came, I approached, almost getting in, when I saw out of the corner of my eye the team running towards me and shouting: ‘Natja!’ I saw that something was wrong. He was a real customer. And I almost got in that car. It was the only moment, during the entire shoot, in which I came across that reality. And I realized: ‘Oh, this really exists, I’m really here’. I thought a lot about. And I also recorded it in eight bathrooms, all real. The set designer cleaned them all up – so we could get in – and then smeared them with chocolate so that it looked really dirty.

The fictional use of drugs

“I had never used drugs. Before making this movie, I’d only seen an addict once. He slept one night in our Republic. and read the book Christiane F… regardless of paper. I knew basic things about what it was like. And we had some tricks that I still see in some scenes – like the moments with her eyes half open or when she’s on withdrawal – which is like you have a bad cold. In some scenes, something was dripped in my eyes to decrease or increase the pupils. They insinuated that I knew the subject – which is not true. She was always called on to talk shows as an ‘expert’. And it would say, ‘Hey, I was acting’. Being an actress is really cool because I can do what I don’t want to do in real life.”

fear of syringes

“I was terribly afraid of syringes. Since forever, I still have. In other words, if they tried to get close with a syringe, I wouldn’t let them get even close. For the faraway scenes, the makeup artist did something amazing. He cut the tip of the needle, sanded. And when someone presses something flat on the skin it feels like it’s going in because the skin gives way a little bit. And he put a little hose behind the syringe – so we could either inject something or pull it in the opposite direction. In the scenes where the camera was very close, you could clearly see that the needle was pointed. These – like the moment she gets the tattoo – were shot by a stunt double. My brother who did. And he got 50 marks a needle. It was a lot of money for him.”

The abstinence scene

“The vomit we recorded only twice. They put a hose in my hand. I had to gasp and bring my hand to my mouth. They put wine. As it got in my nose, I didn’t want to record anymore.”

the sex shots

“My parents were from 1968. I grew up in a Republic, so we talked about sex all the time. But in the film another sense emerged, another kind of shame. We had to lie in bed and then suddenly everyone would disappear on set. I had no idea it could be something so clunky. Then the uli [Edel, diretor do filme] said: ‘Let’s record the coitus scene’. ‘Coitus’, I had to think what that was. She thought it might be Bavarian slang for sex. Their shame was more unpleasant than the scenes themselves.”

The Bahnhof Zoo metro station

“The station belonged to the East German railway company. In other words, everything inside was from East Germany. That’s why we didn’t get authorization. So we had some suicidal shots done quickly running with the camera. Outside there was no problem. On the subway he could also because he belonged to West Berlin.”

The David Bowie Show and the Murder of John Lennon

“He was in New York rehearsing the elephant man. So we went there to film with him. The morning of filming was when they murdered John Lennon – exactly five blocks from where we were. It’s the bowie warned that he would not. But they managed to convince him to do everything quickly.”

The meeting with Christiane F.

“I actually met her once in person. And it was just this once. It was during a concert, I was 16 years old. We barely talked – because the music was loud. But thank you Christiane because, because of her, I’m here, today I’m a director and I’ve written scripts for the last 20 years. If it weren’t for your life, maybe today I’d be a math teacher, which isn’t a bad job either.”

In theaters + special session Rolling Stone Brasil

The film returns to Brazilian cinemas from the 28th of July. The day before, the Rolling Stone Brazilwill hold a special session with debate. Want to watch? Participate in the cultural contest

Fine Sounds special Bowie

On Sunday, July 24th, the Petras Fine Arts yet another exclusive session, the Fine Sounds special Bowiebrings the film with a live soundtrack by André Frateschi and the band heroesexperts in the interpretation of David Bowie.

for this presentation André Frateschi (voice), is accompanied by Miranda Cassin (voice), and the band heroesformed by Angelo Kanaan (drums), Renato Cortez (low), Fernando Coelho (guitar) and Tiago Sormani (saxophone).

Service
Belas Sounds special Bowie with “Eu, Christiane F. – 13 Years Old, Drugged and Prostituted”
Where: Petra Fine Arts
When: Sunday, July 24
Time: 14:00
Where: Rua da Consolação, 2423 – Consolação – São Paulo/SP
Phone: (11) 2894-5781
Website: www.cinebelasartes.com.br
Prices: Tickets cost R$ 50.00 and R$ 25.00 (half, for students and seniors). There are numbered seats. In all rooms, chairs suitable for obese people and space for wheelchair users.
Tickets: At the box office or through the website