It all starts in the mind: temptation is the game of possibilities at the expense of what is offered. Authors, directors and producers have been debating the ie at a three-day symposium in Rome since Thursday.
Watching films with friends and talking heads, about religion, about culture, about politics and about one's own work, the whole thing moreover in delightful and inspiring surroundings – that doesn't sound too bad. Once a year, the Munich Academy for Film and Television Dramaturgy invites "Top: Talente e.V." invite to a symposium in Rome.
The association emerged from a workshop for screenwriters that had been offered there until then, following a restructuring of the Catholic "Institute for the Promotion of Young Journalists" (ifp) in 2003.
The "moment before sin"
"Temptation in Film" is the theme of the conference for authors, directors, producers and editors, which will be held this year for the 13. The first time takes place. At the beginning, the conference director Almuth Hammer from "Bavaria Fiction" in Munich explains the demanding program. Concepts such as "virtue" and "sin," "self-control" and "failure" will be discussed, as well as carnal pleasures and the temptations of career, money and power.
What does it mean to succumb to whispers, to accept immoral offers, to give in to one's own desires?? Whether it's the devil trying to lead Jesus astray in the New Testament or politicians and celebrities taking bribes and evading taxes – it's always about temptation, the "moment before sin," according to Hammer.
Many participants have been there many times before; they know each other well. The discussions are correspondingly open. In addition to the films and the discussions about them, the program includes expert lectures: by theologians, politicians, journalists.
Aspects of temptation
After a lecture by Viennese theologian Susanne Heine on "theological and psychological aspects of temptation," the first day will focus on the TV film "So auf Erden" by director Till Endemann and screenwriter Martin Rosefelt, which was shown on German TV channel Ersten in 2017. It is about a free church preacher and his wife who take in a homosexual street musician. The pastor is thereby confronted with his own repressed homosexuality.
The discussion that follows is about evangelical Christians and the problems of a literal interpretation of the Bible; it is about Adam and Eve in paradise and about the film people's own experiences with religious education. The actors Edgar Selge and Franziska Walser, who play the main roles in the film, report how much effort was made to make the portrayal authentic and to take evangelical Christians and their points of view really seriously.
Temptations of money and power
The next morning, the TV film "Der Bankraub" (ZDF, 2016) is shown, which deals with the banking and financial crisis of 2008. SPD politician Ralph Kleindiek, state secretary in the family ministry since 2014 until the day before the symposium, praises the film. He had made it clear "that at the time it was not an oversight or an operational accident of the financial system, but a willful and deliberate act".
So it's all about the temptations of money and power – and the debate is taking a lively turn. Politicians' motivation to give in to temptation to engage in illegal or immoral behavior has nothing to do with money, Kleindiek says: "If you want to make money, you don't go into politics". Many participants don't want to leave it at that. Don't attractive supervisory board positions beckon after a career in politics? It's more about social recognition, Kleindiek replies: "Politicians, like actors, must have a narcissistic disorder to be successful." There is laughter in the hall.