Telling Stories Through Furniture
An Interview with Production Designer Uli Hanisch After his Lecture "Building Homes for Films"
By Lim Lung Chieh

You worked as a graphic artist for advertising companies. What made you decide to begin working on films as a production designer?

Uli Hanisch: I was about twenty when I was working at a graphic design company and I was asked by German director Christoph Schlingensief to design the poster for his film as well as its titles. Then he told me that he was going to shoot a film nearby and asked if I would like to be a part of it and I said yes. It was a bit risky, but I think it would have happened sooner or later because I've always had a passion for cinema.

You've worked with Tom Tykwer four times now. What is it about him or his films that draws you back to work with him?

Uli Hanisch: Tom Tykwer has this tendency to push the boundaries of reality and it is because of this that he allows me the opportunity to experiment with fantastical elements which I find very fascinating.

Are there certain genres of film you would like to work in? Since you prefer to push the boundaries of reality, have you ever wanted to work on something that is completely out of the ordinary?

Uli Hanisch: Yes, I would like very much to do a horror movie. I am also interested in genres such as science-fiction and children's films, which are also interesting because you can play around with fantastical elements though still base the film in an ordinary world, a kind of fairy tale world where normality is overtaken by fantasy.

You wrote the screenplay for the film Terror 2000 in 1992. Why haven't you written another script since then?

Uli Hanisch: I actually didn't really write the film with the other credited co-writers as it is stated in the credits. What I did was spend an extensive amount of time with director Christoph Schlingensief and the writers talking about the story, developing it with them. I suppose they credited me as a co-writer because of all the time I spent there.

But have you considered writing more scripts?

Uli Hanisch: Yes. I've been developing a script for an animation project with a friend over the last few years but it's taking its time because I am only free to write at night or on weekends. We're doing this for our own enjoyment, really. But we've come to the point where we've already found a producer.

You seem to be a very understanding production designer in that you compromise your ideas according to what the director prefers, but then giving him more as well in a different direction. But have you ever gone over the line and argued with a director, trying to get your creative decisions across?

Uli Hanisch: No. I need to work in harmony. I like positive conflicts sometimes, but so long as they're a bit funny as well. I'm not a very serious person. I once had the privilege of working on the set of a Peter Greenaway film. I was arguing with my fellow prop master when Greenaway came over and said: "Don't worry! Don't argue! It's only a film." I liked that very much. If you've come to the point of having to have to argue with your director, then you're already in a bad situation. You should always like your fellow crew members and argue in a positive manner.

You've worked on the film Heaven, which was based on a script by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Looking at the work of Kieslowski, which was famous for its mise-en-scène, did you feel daunted by the expectations people had for the film especially since you were the production designer?

Uli Hanisch: No, I did not. It was perfectly okay. I received the script knowing Tom Tykwer would do it and that was it, really. It was a much more daunting task to take on Perfume because it was so well-known in literary circles with thousands of essays written about it. Everybody in the world knew about the bloody book.

Lim Lung Chieh

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