Jessica Schwarz can currently be seen in “Over & Out” in the cinema. In an interview with spot on news she talks about the shooting.
Jessica Schwarz (45) has been working successfully in the German and international acting business for over 20 years. In her latest film, “Over & Out” (theatrical release: August 31), she faces a difficult task alongside Julia Becker and Petra Schmidt-Schaller (42). The friends Lea, Steffi and Toni want to visit the wedding of their friend Maja (Nora Tschirner, 41) in Italy together – but the trip ends with a shock for those involved.
In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Jessica Schwarz talks about the importance of friendship in her life, explains when she sets personal limits and talks about her glamping hotel in Portugal. The actress also reveals how important work is to her and that she wasn’t a simple teenager.
Mrs Black, how are you?
Jessica Schwarz: I’m fine. Thanks. I’m a little excited. Due to Corona there have been no events for a long time. I sense a certain nervousness. But I’m very excited.
How would you describe your new film “Over & Out”?
Schwarz: It’s an incredibly atmospheric, authentic road trip by girlfriends who couldn’t be more different. Each of the women has her own character, her own strengths, her weaknesses, her secrets, her downer. And they are indeed faced with a big problem, a big drama. This is a journey these friends embark on that demands a lot from them. They have to get together again.
Friendship is the focus of “Over & Out”. How important is friendship to you personally?
Black: Very important. It’s not always easy because I travel a lot. My motto is: “So close and yet so far.” Because I travel a lot for filming and live in Portugal, I can’t be there for every birthday. My friendships have always relied heavily on communication via cell phone, Facetime or Zoom. But there are also important meetings that are sacred to me, for which I free up everything and say: “It doesn’t matter, I’ll come.” I do an incredible amount to ensure that these friendships last. You have to. That was not so easy now in the Corona period and abroad. But that was the case for all of us. I missed so much seeing people in real life and hugging them.
With your character Lea, work comes first. Is that the case with you too?
Schwarz: I have always defined myself very strongly through my work. That just belongs to me. But it’s more relaxed. I deal with it more easily now and I also notice that my life means much more to me than always saying yes to everything. A lot has happened, also a lot of positive things in terms of work. But there are times when I realize it’s okay to say no. You don’t always have to show up everywhere. Instead, I’m visiting a friend, and not necessarily the next event. Or I’d rather stay with my husband for the summer and cancel a shoot for it. I probably wouldn’t have done that ten years ago. But the wild tornado around you is slowly relaxing and you get more into the “eye”, where everything is a little quieter.
So it’s also important to you to set boundaries?
Black: Definitely. You can see that in “Over & Out” with my character Lea, who is often very restless because there is often no room for her own emotions and feelings. I’ve shot a lot in the last year, also in different languages, and I’ve also done a lot of other things. Then I started meditating for myself, also to relieve pressure. It wasn’t until I got back to my self-determined life in Portugal that I stopped meditating. Of course I could have just kept shooting and working, but my body, my mind and my intellect said: “Now it’s over”. I just had to take a break. At some point I might otherwise have become unhappy, like my character Lea.
What actually drew you to Portugal?
Schwarz: The idea of starting something completely new again. It was more of a spontaneous decision. I’ve always wanted to live somewhere where the temperatures are a bit more comfortable (laughs). Although it can get very cold in Portugal too. My job gives me the option of not having to live in a specific place. It was the spontaneity that drew my husband and I here. Whether we’ll stay here forever, who knows? Maybe something else will come along at some point. But for now it’s just perfect.
How did you come up with the idea of opening a glamping hotel there?
Schwarz: I already have a hotel with my sister in Michelstadt, “The Dreaming”. It was a small moment of destiny when we went on vacation to Portugal ourselves. The place is called “Rêves Étoilés”, so it also has something to do with dreams. The small hotel was for sale. We then slept on it one night and went to the previous owners in the morning and said: “We could imagine that”. We are now in the second season.
Is it difficult to reconcile both professions, hotel owner and actress?
Schwarz: The good thing is that they are very different professions. I enjoy having both. It’s not always easy, because there’s a lot of work to be done in the hotel. But I knew that beforehand. Sometimes you shoot a movie and then you’re exhausted. But this work fulfills me. You have great conversations with the guests and sometimes jump into the pool with them at night (laughs). You are still at home there.
How was filming “Over & Out”?
Schwarz: It was an incredibly beautiful collaboration with Julia, Petra and Nora, so playful and creative. Of course, my character Lea challenged me a lot with her tough, hard, bitchy manner. But under Julia’s leadership it was wonderful. It’s been a year since shooting, but every day still feels like a dream. It was really a great shooting time.
Do you have special goals that you want to achieve or dreams that you want to fulfill?
Schwarz: I’ve already fulfilled a lot of dreams that I didn’t even know were my dreams. That’s why I would first keep the balls flat, because I can’t be happier right now.
At the beginning of the film, the girlfriends are still teenagers and are caught partying. When you were a teenager, did you also tangle with the adults?
Black: Me? Yes! (laughs) I had one or two annoyances. Of course, I always liked to say that I’m sleeping at a friend’s house and going to the cinema, but instead I went to Frankfurt to celebrate. I wasn’t a very easy teenager, but my parents got through it.
What would you like to say to cinema audiences about “Over & Out”?
Black: Embark on this journey. You will laugh, you will cry. You probably want to have your girlfriends around you relatively quickly. It’s good, now that the holiday season is over, to send your thoughts on a journey again and not to be afraid to think about loss. What are friendships? How deep do they go and how crazy can they be? How opposite can they be? It’s a really authentic story with women you recognize yourself in. And of course there are some really cool men in the film (laughs).