In
the year 2002 in Munich, at an exhibition of actress and painter
Barabara Weinzierl, it happend that her father introduced me to
director Clemens Keiffenheim during that evening.
" Fredi, this is Clemens Keiffenheim, film and television
director. Clemens, this is Fredi Kleinheinz, actor and undertaker."
After these words he left us alone, we shook hands and Clemens
asked me what Weinzierl had meant by "undertaker". I
told him that 20 years ago I worked for 2 ½ years at a
funeral parlour in my home town. There one was looking for somebody
capable of making death masks. I was 31 at that time, had been
working as a plasterer's assistant for 12 years and got that new
job out of the blue.
Clemens showed great interest in my former profession and told
me, he had always wanted to make a movie about that topic. An
hour later we were sitting in an Italian restaurant, weaving first
ideas and arranging further meetings.
A rough draft was developed and it seemed to become a small road
movie. " A hearse driver on his very last day had to bring
his very last customer to the central cemetery. Suddenly he struggles
against something within him; he does not want to give away the
corpse anymore and flees with it abroad. Not into the sunny south,
of course, but high into the cool north. "
But things went completely different. We kept on weaving and weaving.
The undertaker became preperator and roboterfreak Richie Blair.
Instead of one corpse we had a pair of them; additionally they
were more skilled, more beautiful and happier as soon as they
became permanent pacifists.
Clemens achieved within 3 months to set script, actors, motives
and so on foot. Now it was time to bring this crazy story to life.
I still do not know how he managed to do that. Who knows, perhaps
he is a kind of robot himself. But to everybody's reassurance,
I have to add, - one with a heart.
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