From Cannes: Acclaimed Filmmakers Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns and Michael Wech To Direct Feature Doc On Michael Schumacher

Rocket Science announced today that award-winning German filmmakers Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns will direct official feature documentary 'SCHUMACHER' on the most successful formula one driver of all time, Michael Schumacher. Rocket Science to launch sales at Cannes.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time, Schumacher is the only driver in history to win seven Formula One World Championships, five of which he won consecutively with Ferrari. He also holds a number of other all-time records such as the overall number of Formula One victories (91), podium finishes (155) or laps in lead (77).

After retiring from racing in 2012, Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a skiing accident in 2013 and continues to receive medical treatment to this day.


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Benjamin Seikel and Vanessa Nöcker of B | 14 FILM are producing along with DCM, who will release the film in German-speaking territories. Rocket Science is presenting, executive producing and handling international sales, commencing in Cannes this month. 

Fully supported by Schumacher's family, the documentary will feature rare interviews and never-before-seen archival footage in a behind the scenes look at the world champion racing driver.  Framed by Michael's 50th birthday and the 25th anniversary of his first World Championship victory (1994), the film - which is currently in post-production - will feature interviews with Michael's family, his closest racing companions and competitors.

SCHUMACHER will explore the many facets of this complex man: the merciless Formula One driver, the ambitious boy with the dream, the down-to-earth mechanic, the dependable team player, and the devoted friend and father. 

An award-winning documentary film director, Wech's Resistance Fighters premiered at the 2019 Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival. He has written and directed in-depth documentaries about controversial figures such as Gerhard Schröder and Marine Le Pen.


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Renowned print editor Kammertöns joined the team of the Hamburg weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT in 1989, where today he is their Senior Editor.Kammertöns worked as co-author of TV documentaries for ARD and Arte.

Together, Wech and Kammertöns have made Gunter Sachs: Der Lebenskünstler, Der Mann, der Udo Jürgens ist and Boris Becker: Der Spieler,which were licensed to several European television stations and Netflix.

Seikel said: "It is an important year for Michael Schumacher - with his 50th birthday in January and the 25th anniversary of his first World Championship victory in November. We are thrilled to have the trusting cooperation of Michael Schumacher's family and management; without their support this film would not have been possible." Nöcker adds: "It is time for a film. And it goes without saying that we are very much aware of the great responsibility we bear here".

Sabine Kehm, on behalf of Michael Schumacher's family, said: "Michael's outstanding career deserves to be celebrated 25 years after he achieved his first out of seven world championship titles. We are happy this film will be in the hands of such ambitious and sensitive professionals."

Rocket Science's slate includes: Azazel Jacobs' French Exit starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts; Ana Lily Amirpour's female-led reboot of survival blockbuster Cliffhanger; Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 starring Eddie Redmayne, Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sacha Baron Cohen and Jonathan Majors; Gary Shore's Queen Mary; and Jonathan Jakubowicz's Resistance starring Jesse Eisenberg.

 

ABOUT ROCKET SCIENCE

Established in London, 2016, ROCKET SCIENCE has quickly attained global recognition as one of the preeminent international filmed entertainment companies.  Since its inception, it has financed, produced, packaged and sold over two dozen critically acclaimed and commercially successful films.


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ROCKET SCIENCE leverages a deep talent and producer pool, propelling it to thrive as one of the few Europe-based entertainment companies that consistently bring top-tier talent packages to the marketplace.  With proven taste and an objective driven approach, ROCKET SCIENCE continues to create a diverse range of compelling content with strong global appeal for modern film and television audiences.

ROCKET SCIENCE's multi-disciplinary practice includes development, financing, marketing and sales, and distribution, across all media platforms.  2019 is proving to be yet another strong-growth year for ROCKET SCIENCE as it embarks upon significant territorial expansion into regional markets worldwide and undertakes substantial expansion into developing, packaging and producing more top tier projects.

Recent and upcoming projects include: Azazel Jacobs' French Exit starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts; Ana Lily Amirpour's female-led reboot of survival blockbuster Cliffhanger; Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7, set to star Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen and Seth Rogen ; Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate, starring Willem Dafoe who was nominated for an Academy Award® for his turn as Vincent van Gogh; David Lowery's The Old Man and the Gun, starring Robert Redford; Jonathan Jakubowicz's Resistance starring Jesse Eisenberg which is currently in post-production; and Karyn Kusama's Destroyer starring Nicole Kidman.

ABOUT B | 14 FILM

B|14 FILM - Benjamin Seikel and Vanessa Nöcker. Both have – for many years in the film business – decided to join forces in 2017 after several joint productions (a.o. BORIS BECKER – THE PLAYER, ARD/Netflix, RECHSTAG – HISTORY OF GERMAN HOUSE, ARTE/NDR). Their latest international feature, DCM's cinema-documentary PETER LINDBERGH – WOMEN'S STORIES, premiered at the Berlinale 2019. 


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Before the merger Seikel produced Margarethe von Trotta's first documentary film SEARCHING FOR INGMAR BERGMAN, which premiered 2018 in Cannes. In the field of fiction he 2013 co-produced the filming of the novel NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON that became a cinematic success and 2016 he won the German Film Award in Bronze for the feature film 4 KINGS. Nöcker has produced feature films, documentaries and serials mainly for ARD, ARTE and ZDF - as a producer, partly also as a director. She has made major documentary films such YOU SHALL LIVE! and REUNITED AGAIN for ZDF, PAOLO CONTE for ARTE Ma Vie. Like Seikel, she has a great experience above all with biographies. Her Production HELMUT SCHMIDT OFF DUTY won the Golden Camera in 2007.

ABOUT DCM 

DCM was established in Berlin in 2008 by Swiss trio Dario Suter, Christoph Daniel, Marc Schmidheiny and Joel Brandeis who joined them in 2010. Following the production of its first feature film CEASEFIRE, DCM co-produced the Academy Award-nominated KON-TIKI and Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut QUARTET. From 2013 until 2016, DCM produced the popular children's film series BIBI & TINA – one of Germany's most successful franchises which will return as an Amazon Prime original in 2020. DCM's slate also includes Jonas Carpignano's festival successes MEDITERRANEA and A CIAMBRA. Currently in post-production is Jonas Alexander Arnby's SUICIDE TOURIST starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

In addition to its production arm, DCM is operating as a distribution company in Germany and Switzerland and has released titles such as the Academy Award-winning films THE ARTIST and MOONLIGHT, Paolo Sorrentino's THE GREAT BEAUTY and Todd Haynes' CAROL. DCM's current distribution slate includes COLETTE starring Keira Knightley, Julian Schnabel's Van Gogh biopic AT ETERNITY'S GATE and David Lowery's OLD MAN AND THE GUN starring Robert Redford and Casey Affleck as well as Asif Kapadia´s upcoming Cannes title DIEGO MARADONA.

ABOUT HANNS-BRUNO KAMMERTÖNS

After studying law, Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns was initially editor of the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung in Essen. In 1989 he joined the editorial team of the Hamburg weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT, where he was responsible for the dossier editing, the magazine ZEIT-Leben and the cover stories. Today he is Senior Editor in the service of the editor-in-chief. Kammertöns worked as co-author of TV documentaries for ARD and Arte. Together with Michael Wech he also realized TV biographies about Gunter Sachs, Udo Jürgens and Boris Becker.

ABOUT MICHAEL WECH

Michael Wech is an award-winning documentary film director based in Hamburg. He achieved his Masters degree in Political Science after studies at the Universities of Hamburg, Ankara and London. During his twenty years in the business, he has composed in-depth documentaries about controversial figures such as Gerhard Schröder and Marine Le Pen. In collaboration with Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns he realized films about Gunter Sachs, Udo Jürgens and Boris Becker, which were licensed to several European Television Stations and Netflix. His recent cinematic documentary "Resistance Fighters" premiered at the 2019 Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX.

Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns and Michael Wech are represented by B | 14 FILM.

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