At “Movie meets Media” the celebrities talked about sustainability and the war. But it was also about distraction with “beautiful things”.
At the “Movie meets Media” reception on Friday, many celebrities met in the “Regent Hotel” on the historic Gendarmenmarkt to listen to a panel discussion about values and sustainability. Panel speaker and head of communications Marcello Concilio from the textile company “Ernsting’s Family” made it clear that comprehensively sustainable structures are also possible in a large corporation. This begins with the ecologically and socially responsible manufactured quality goods, which last for years and thus avoid constant additional purchases and also include avoiding overproduction and the further distribution of leftover products. Concilio: “A Swiss company takes the products we don’t buy and processes them, among other things, into filling materials for the automotive industry.”
Vintage clothing, carbon offsetting and veganism
Actress Luise Befort (25, “The Palace”) campaigned for climate protection until shortly before the event began at the “Fridays for Future” demonstration in Berlin. A matter of course for the convinced vegan: “I’ve been there for a long time, I demonstrate regularly.” Befort appeals to each individual to “use their voice” and make a conscious decision as a consumer for environmentally friendly products. She herself came to the event with “a grandmother’s belt”, preferring vintage clothing as a matter of principle. Befort only sees advantages in this: “I love used clothes, I can tell a story with them and protect the environment at the same time.”
Actor Felix Maximilian (born 1976) is also committed to the environment. He has been a diver in the world’s oceans for 20 years and can see the changes there with his own eyes: “There are fewer fish, there is a lot of rubbish”. He now collects the latter on his dives in order to dispose of it on land. Maximilian is also vegan, rides a bike and uses tree donations to offset CO2 on his flights. He separates the garbage “from a young age” and he is “super picky” when it comes to saving electricity. The actor, who has just produced his first documentary about street children in Bucharest, says: “We all need to understand that this planet is our livelihood and needs to be protected,” not to take possession of it as a business.
Bruno Eyron: “It’s no longer possible without sustainability”
Actor Bruno Eyron (57), who has been building a second mainstay as a spirits manufacturer since 2014, selling high-quality gin, beer and wine under the “Bruderkuss” label, thinks that it would be good for the environmental movement if it were less “populist ” would. Not politics, but companies and science should contribute to conveying environmentally friendly methods and technology to consumers. Eyron, who also focuses on regionalism and recyclability in his own products, sees the future in this: “Without sustainability, it’s no longer possible”. Technological developments, such as lab-grown meat or circular economies, would ultimately make the difference.
The former science TV luminary Jean Pütz (85), who runs two energy houses and reports on environmentally friendly technology on social media, sees it that way. Pütz is certain that methanol is the drive technology of the future. All you need is water and carbon. Hydrogen alone is too dangerous.
The German model icon Gitta Saxx (57), who had an eye operation last week – “I see like an eagle! Parts of me are now 20 again” – reports a conscious restriction when buying clothes: “It has to be now really still be the tenth handbag?”. Instead, she would have organized a regular clothes swap with friends and acquaintances and is known at home as a strict waste separator who also keeps an eye on the neighbors: “Someone is always throwing plastic in the organic bin,” she says angrily. Meditation helps her against the stresses of time, but also the conscious feeling of “gratitude and humility” for the small, beautiful things in life.
With “beautiful things” against the war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine is also a topic of many discussions that evening. Actress Eva Habermann (46), who came with her fiancé Alexander König, with whom she runs a joint production company, appeals to keep her composure despite the images of war, which she says are “traumatizing”. Habermann: “My first thought was directed towards Russia: Do you still have them all? Are you really talking about the use of atomic bombs here?” But at the same time she realized that “it’s no good if we’re all sad or depressed.” It is important for her to convey: “Stay confident!” She does this by consciously turning to beautiful things, also in order to be able to help further.
Actors Mirco Reseg (49) and Philipp Danne (36), who have lively discussions about travel, show what “turning to beautiful things” can look like. Both are California fans. While Danne, who recently became a father, still has this journey ahead of him with his family and friends, Reseg has already been there and offers advice. Reseg, who also does without his own car for the sake of the environment, didn’t let the road trip classic be taken away from him in the USA and also recommended the tour to his colleague. Hollywood is “a magical place” for him. As children, both actors say, they “really absorbed” American films and sitcoms and were thus shaped by American film culture. Reseg: “ET got me into acting. When I saw the movie I thought: You can do it too!”
Actress Mariella Ahrens (52), who will soon be on stage with Martin Semmelrogge (66) at Düsseldorf’s “Theater an der Kö”, authentically describes her inner turmoil, which she feels in relation to both climate change and the war: ” You read the news, you try to help yourself, but you also want to distract yourself and do something nice and somehow always have a bad conscience.”
Own experiences with refugees
The wife of ex-ZDF editor-in-chief Klaus Bresser (85), who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, appeared with a good friend instead of her husband at the event, which was sponsored by Ernsting’s Family, among others. Evelyn Bresser on her husband’s state of health: “It depends very much on the day. He feels like this, sometimes like that”. But Corona is not an issue for him, “he has already been vaccinated four times”. Bressers, who had already taken in two families who had fled Syria in the past few years, are currently preparing one of their apartments for a Ukrainian refugee family, the journalist reports. Her experiences with these people, who have met a hard fate, are consistently positive. Evelyn Bresser: “They are wonderfully integrated”. One of the fathers is now a very popular vaccinator.
The actress and musician Christin Nichols (born 1986) also thinks: “Life must go on” and deliberately does not let the fun of this evening be taken as a break from the news, which she also follows “like an addict” at night. But Nichols emphasizes that she is aware of “the privilege of what we have here, to be healthy and protected”. For the future, the Berliner wishes “less toxic masculinity”. Whether it’s the climate or the wars – unfortunately, it’s “always these men who cause the destruction”. She adds with a wink: “But there are also good men.”