LOGLINE
In 2008 as the US army bases around Frankfurt begin to close, a young woman and a young man whose fragile identities are on the verge of collapse take on the roles of seducer and victim in a reconstruction of one of the last actions of the Red Army Faction, the pick-up and murder of a US soldier in Wiesbaden in 1985.
SYNOPSIS
In 1985 just outside of Frankfurt a young American soldier is picked up in a bar and taken to a lover’s lane where he is murdered by the Red Army Faction for his ID card. They use the card to plant a bomb on an air force base. In 2008, James, the son of a German mother and an American soldier, survives scavenging and selling old equipment from army bases, but his livelihood is threatened by their closure. Simone drops out of a play in New York and returns to visit her newly remarried mother in Frankfurt. At that time, a female RAF member appeals for clemency for her part in the pick-up and murder of the US soldier in 1985. Simone becomes fascinated by the case and starts to imagine herself as this young woman – or as the prosecutor called her, a ‘Lockvogel’ or sexual decoy. Left alone for the summer in her stepfather’s apartment, Simone begins to pick up young soldiers in the weeks before their departure. James is drawn into Simone’s role-play, and together they start to play a dangerous game, immersing themselves in the lives of the young soldier and the woman who led him to his death in 1985.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
When I first came across the story of Edward’s murder, I was struck by its tragic irony, but also that it asked how we can find common ground, even love, in a world of increasingly fragmented identities. For me, Pimental’s murder was a turning point between the old world of established roles and clear political lines, and the new world of precarious work and fluid identities. My film will show the clash of Reagan’s America and post-war Germany, and through Simone and James’ obsession explore the origins of the kaleidoscopic reality that we now live in. As their worlds crumble, they look for meaning in the mythic stories of the recent past. Through the roles of the soldier and the political activist they search for an understanding of themselves and some way to affect the world. The story of Decoys ends suspended between tragedy and hope. Although inequality and the crimes of history remain unresolved, the lives of my characters show that it is possible to find love and connection where violence was the expected outcome.
Growing up living between the US and the UK, I want to tell stories of individuals caught between places and not comfortable in either. These are also stories about the points where cultures meet, both their exchanges and clashes.
I will tell this complex, layered story through sensuous, indelible images that touch us to the core. These images will put us right into the time of experience of my characters, but also convey the history that runs through their lives and through the landscape. The film will convey a sense of motion within limits, painting a reality that is hard and real, and at the same time fluid and changeable. The overarching experience is of periods inlaid into one another, a Russian doll effect of stories embedded within stories.
PROCESS AND CASTING
I am delighted to be working again with Lee Daniel, the celebrated Director of Photography best known for his cinematography on the BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning film, Boyhood (2014), directed by Richard Linklater. Daniel has also shot acclaimed films such as The Unforeseen (2007), Fast Food Nation (2006), Dazed and Confused (1993), and Before Sunset (2004). Daniel was the DOP on my last two films, Monuments and Walk-Through, and will bring a distinctly US sensibility to filming in Europe.
The film will be shot primarily in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and in the surrounding towns and countryside, which were historically the focus of the US Army in Germany from the post-war period to the present.
The German actress Lilith Stangenberg is attached for the lead role of Simone. Lilith has worked extensively with the Berlin Volksbuhne and won best actress in the 2017 German Critics Prize for her lead role in Wild (Nicolette Krebitz, 2016).
KEY CREW
Lee Daniel - Cinematographer
Lee Daniel is best known for his work as cinematographer on Richard Linklater’s films Boyhood, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. He has also shot acclaimed documentaries Be Here to Love Me and The Unforseen.
Lee has a continuing working relationship with Redmond Entwistle and shot his last two films Monuments (2010) and Walk-Through (2012).
His main credits include:
Boyhood (2014)
The Unforeseen (2007)
Fast Food Nation (2006)
Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004)
Before Sunset (2004)
SubUrbia (1996)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Slacker (1991)
Martin Bonds - Composer
‘Martin Bonds is one of the most under-rated yet influential Detroit Techno producers of all time’ – Resident Advisor
‘Marty Bonds is truly a highlight of second wave Detroit techno….One of the deepest takes on detroit techno ever…future rhythms where you can still feel the funk, rock, new wave, jazz influences and the search for something new, deeper.’ - Discogs
‘Raw, larger than life and filled with a feeling that you simply don’t hear that much any more’ - Juno Download
‘A sumptuously mechanistic and enduringly soulful piece of Detroit techno of the kind that has helped make "Detroit techno" mean what it means today.’ – Andy Battaglia review of Surkit Chamber
Lilith Stangenberg - Lead Actress - Simone / Lil
Winner - Best Actress German Critics Prize 2017
Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer
(dir. Lars Kraume 2014)
Wild
(dir. Nicolette Krebitz 2014)
Die Lügen der Sieger
(dir. Christoph Hochhausler 2013)
‘Lilith Stangenberg is one of the hottest young actresses right now, an actress who pours her whole being into her art.’
Sandra Luzina, Tagespiegel ticket
‘Berlin’s most exciting new actress.’
Zitty Magazine
‘Lilith Stangenberg has the flickering charm of a Hitchcock heroine.’
Christine Wahl, Der Tagespiegel
‘She is always precise, down to the last second! She’s a sensation, and has been for quite some time.’
Christian Rakow, Nachtkritik
Alex Thiele - Producer UK
Alex Thiele (UK) is founder and producer at London-based 65 Wilding Films. Her recent production - award-winning comedy The Book of Gabrielle was released theatrically by Peccadillo Pictures in 2017. Other producing credits include Break My Fall (2011) by BAFTA-nominee Kanchi Wichmann and most recently, the documentary A Deal With The Universe, sold by Altitude Films and to be released into UK cinemas in February 2019. Alex currently has film projects in development with backing from the British Film Institute and Finnish Film Foundation, including Hannah Patterson’s Claude, winner of 2017 Athena List, and Redmond Entwistle’s Success in Circuit selected for 2018 Torino Film Lab. Alex is an alumna of EAVE European Producers Workshop and Guiding Lights, the UK industry’s flagship mentoring scheme.
Marcelo Busse - Producer Germany
Marcelo Busse started working in 1994 in the film industry and participated on films directed by Leos Carax, Enki Bilal and Werner Schroeter, starring names such as Catherine Deneuve, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michel Piccoli, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant and July Delpy. In 2001 he founded busse & halberschmidt, an independent film production house based in Düsseldorf. Since then he has produced and co-produced award winning feature films and documentaries for an international cinema audience. The most recent Vietnamese co-production Big Father, Small Father And Other Stories by filmmaker Phan Dang Di was screened in the Berlinale Competition.
Hannah Patterson - Co-writer
Hannah is represented in the US by Paradigm Talent Agency and in the UK by Curtis Brown.
CREDITS FILM:
- CLAUDE, Writer (Prod. Alex Thiele). Winner: Athena List, 2017, in association with Amazon Studios & Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Award. Semi-finalist: CineStory Screenwriting Competition, Creative World Awards and Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition.
- DECOYS, Co-writer (Dir. Redmond Entwistle; Prod. busse & halberschmidt)
- MUCH, Writer (Dir. Marcus Werner Hed; Prod. Sophie Neave; Exec Prod. Andrew Eaton). Play adaptation – script completed, part financed.
- UNEXPLODED, Writer (Prod. David Broder) – first draft commission completed.
- ARRIBADA, Writer (Prod. Sarah Brocklehurst). Developed during the EIFF NETWORK scheme – treatment stage.
- CHAMELEON, Co-writer – script completed.
- 3 Shorts commissioned by RADA Films
CREDITS THEATRE:
- EDEN, commission for Hampstead Theatre Upstairs (2018).
- PLATINUM, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs (2016/17).?
- GIVING, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs (2016).?
- COME TO WHERE I’M FROM, Southbank Centre (2016).
- PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS, Theatre 503 (2013). Transferred to Brits off Broadway, 59e59 Theater, New York (2014).
- MUCH, The Cock Tavern (2010).
- Several short plays produced at venues including The Pleasance, The Union, Waterloo Theatre East and Jersey Arts Centre, in association with Old Vic, New Voices.
- Rehearsed readings at venues including RADA and Arcola Theatre.
Redmond Entwistle - Writer & Director
Redmond Entwistle is a writer and director working between the UK and the US. Originally from London, he moved to the US to study film and fine art at the California Institute of the Arts and then the Whitney Independent Study Program. During his early career in New York, he focused on short and medium-length films that were shown at film festivals and galleries internationally, including a retrospective at MIT List. He won Best Film at Images Festival, Toronto for his film ‘Paterson - Lódz’ and was in competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam with ‘Monuments’, which the festival called, ‘A brainy, beautifully imagined film with an unexpectedly dry humour to boot.’
Since 2005 Redmond’s films have shown in festivals and galleries internationally, including spotlights at Hors Pistes (Centre Pompidou) and BAFICI (Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival), and Assembly, a survey of UK Artists films at Tate Britain. In 2014 he was nominated for the Jarman Award. In 2015-16 he participated in Film London’s New Approaches program for artist-filmmakers developing feature films for cinema release. His feature in development ‘Success in Circuit’ was selected and presented at Torino Script Lab 2018.
Features:
Decoys - Lockvoegel (feature in development) supported by Hessen Film Fund
Success in Circuit (feature in development) participated in Torino Script Lab 2018
Shorts:
Walk-Through (2012 / 18m / 16mm to HD)
premiere Vienna Int Film Festival
Monuments (2010 / 30m / 16mm)
premiere International Film Festival Rotterdam, Tigers Shorts Competition
Satellite (2009 / 10m / 16mm)
Belfast Trio (2009 / 9m / 35mm)
premiere Sao Paolo Film Festival
Paterson - Lodz (2006 / 60m / 16mm)
Images Festival, Best International Film Award
Social Visions (2000 / 15' / 16mm)
ACCOLADES
UPDATES
September 27, 2018 - 'Decoys' is being produced by Marcelo Busse (busse & halberschmidt) in Germany and Alex Thiele (65 Wilding Films) in the UK.in 2016 we received development support from Hessen Film Fund in Germany.We have completed development and have just begun financing, and are expecting to shoot in late 2019. Actress Lilith Stangenberg is attached as the main lead.
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