Blackout Series “Everything Dark”
Bettina Mittendorfer on the “radically” further developed series
“Everything dark”: Marie (Laila Marie Noëlle Padotzke), her mother Carola (Bettina Mittendorfer) and Jens (Michael A. Grimm) talk in the Prepper basement while eating.
© Allegro Film/BR/ORF/Anjeza Cikopano
The series “Everything dark” is about a blackout and the consequences. The topicality makes actress Bettina Mittendorfer “speechless”.
In the six-part Austrian-German satirical TV series “Alles finster” (in double episodes from September 13, 8:15 p.m., BR), the quirky residents of the small fictional village of Kekenberg an der Della experience what a Europe-wide blackout for their Microcosm means: no electricity, no mobile phone, no water supply, no shopping facilities… What’s next for the bizarre village community?
Bettina Mittendorfer (51, “Spring”, “Room with stable”) plays the German immigrant Carola, who is actually well prepared for such extreme cases with her husband Jens (Michael A. Grimm). Unlike the others, the Preppers’ basement is stocked with everything you need to survive. But none of that helps when daughter Marie runs out of diabetes medication…
In an interview with spot on news, the Bavarian series star Bettina Mittendorfer reveals whether the sudden topicality of the series worries her.
The series has probably become much more relevant since working on it. When did you first come into contact with the script yourself?
Bettina Mittendorfer: The screenplay came a few weeks before shooting started. Right from the start I thought: a great book, exciting, funny … and above all the development really amazed me. This thought that suddenly everything stands still, in all consequence and how radically life changes in this series. And that the topic is suddenly so incredibly topical – that almost leaves me speechless…
Have you always had some emergency supplies or do you have some now?
Mittendorfer: I don’t have any emergency supplies at the moment because I’m moving – from Passau to near Munich. But during the pandemic, I’ve kept stocking up on good things and delicacies. (laughs) What you should always have at home – that’s water.
The series addresses the myriad effects of a Europe-wide blackout. Which one scares you the most personally?
Mittendorfer: Fear is always bad. What I find most dramatic is the scarcity of water. We should think about this – not only because of a possible blackout, but also because of climate change. we need water In this context, science should be included much more in political decisions – also with regard to the blackout.
The film was shot in the municipality of Scheiblingkirchen-Thernberg, Lower Austria. Was there a funny or nice scene during the shooting?
Mittendorfer: I had dance lessons with Michi Grimm, we were allowed to learn to dance salsa in the evenings while we were shooting. It was really nice that you can get closer again than just 1.50 meters.
And which scene do you remember in particular?
Mittendorfer: Actually, the scenes in which we were all together – the whole team – be it playing football or around the campfire. And what I particularly felt during this shoot: You can’t get through it alone anyway, you have to stick together, it’s only possible if we work together.
The smart homes are also a problem in the series. How smart does your home look? And is the series a reason to always keep the analog option open?
Mittendorfer: The series isn’t the reason for that, but personally I don’t like it at all. I have a dishwasher at home that I’m supposed to connect to my cell phone, but I won’t do that. I’m not a fan of it at all and I still like to travel analog.
Münster-“Tatort: Propheteus” (TV thriller, March 2022), “the kangaroo conspiracy” (cinema comedy, August 2022) and now “Everything Finster” (TV series, September 2022) – the confrontation with conspiracy theories is slowly taking place, but certainly also in entertainment/fiction. What do you make of it?
Mittendorfer: I’m always in favor of talking to each other and that everyone should be able to say their opinion – that’s also a fundamental democratic value. And I am against a division in society. Of course, the media depict the social issues and bring to light what is currently developing. And that’s important too.
In “Everything dark” you play a German who emigrated to Austria. Also on the set there were mostly Austrian colleagues. How were you received?
Mittendorfer: As always in Austria: wonderful! The colleagues were also very attentive. I actually always feel that way, also with my other productions, because I shoot a lot in Austria, including the “Steirerkrimi”. Away from the set, it’s always an experience. The area where we shot this time is called the “Hunchback World”; When I was not shooting, I used to cycle a lot on Lake Neusiedl and I can only say: Burgenland is wonderful.