Daniel Dreifuss left BH 20 years ago to make films in Los Angeles (Photo: Personal Collection)
20 years ago Daniel Dreifuss changed Belize horizonsand from los Angeles with the dream of working with cinema. He arrived in Hollywood with a Brazilian passport, two suitcases and no industry contacts. Since today (January 24th), 43yearold Dreifuss has seen that he can dream big.
“Nothing new up frontThe German film he produced (coproduction with the USA and Great Britain) received nine Oscar nominations. Including the main prize for the best film. The others are: International Film, Hair and Makeup, Original Music, Sound, Visual Effects, Adapted Screenplay, Photography and Production Design.
It was Dreifuss who understood that the story that accompanies a young German soldier during the First World War, based on the memoirs of the writer Erich Maria Remarque (18981970) in the novel of the same name, should be told in his country of origin.
The producer also had a personal interest in the story. His paternal grandfather, Max Dreifuss, also fought in this conflict. “He belonged to the generation that unfortunately fought for Germany in the First War and was sent to a concentration camp in the Second,” says Dreifuss.
Max Dreifuss, a German Jew from Alsace, was one of five family members to survive the Holocaust. He managed to escape to Uruguay, where Ren Dreifuss (19452003), Daniel’s father, was born.
Ren, a political scientist and historian who graduated from the University of Haifa in Israel, received a master’s degree from the University of Leeds, England, and a doctorate from Glasgow, Scotland, where Daniel was born.
German production “Nothing new on the front” competes for nine Oscars (Photo: Netflix/Divulgao) The producer was one and a half years old when he arrived in Belo Horizonte. At the time, his father was a professor of political science at the UFMG, where he remained until 1985. During this period, Ren also published his most important book, 1964: The Conquest of the State (1981). analyzes the articulations of economic sectors and the military to overthrow President João Goulart in 1964.
Even after his father left BH, Daniel stayed in the city where his mother, who is Brazilian, still lives today. In the following interview, he shares how he got involved with the Nothing New Frontline project and talks about expectations for this return to the Oscars. It has been 20 years in the United States and ten since his first appointment as producer of Pablo Larran’s Chilean “No”.
The nine nominations for “Nothing New at the Front” were striking. did you expect that
I can’t expect anything, I can dream, I can aim. In every department of the film, the technical staff was outstanding, so the nominations were a reward, an industry recognition. If you had asked me three months ago, I would have said that I would be delighted if it were nominated for Best International Film. J would be a gift. But when the film was shortlisted in five categories and later received 14 Bafta nominations, I began to think it might actually transcend the international film category.
How did “Nothing New at the Front” come to you?
I got the script about ten years ago right after No came out. I really liked the script at the time, it had more action and focused more on the last day of the war. It didn’t happen at the time for a number of reasons, since it’s not an easy film to uplift. The script was passed on to other producers and directors, but I’ve never forgotten it because I have a personal connection to it.
Which would be?
My grandfather (Max Dreifuss, German Jew from Alsace) fought in the First War. In the scene where the boy Paul Bumer (Felix Kammerer) is going to do military service, he lies and says he was born in 1899. My grandfather was actually born in 1899 and drafted in 1917. His cousin had also drafted, he died at the end of the war. So I kind of wanted to get back to the project. When I decided to look for the project again, I fought for the version known today. I wouldn’t be able to make the film the way I wanted to in the US. I thought he had to go back to Germany, to the original language. I took it to a German producer (Malte Grunert) and Edward (Berger, director) came with him.
Getting shot in Germany made all the difference, didn’t it?
How would I speak in English about such a pivotal moment for a country? I thought it would be interesting to have the German perspective. In addition, audiences around the world, especially in the United States, as this has been the case in Brazil, are more open to films and series in languages other than English. “Parasite” is an example of this. People have understood that fascinating stories can be told anywhere. What needs to be found is the universality of the subject in a local story. But I didn’t expect that by the time the film was released there would be another war in Europe. So it’s very timely. That’s when I started working on it for various reasons, guns not controlled, kids killed in attacks. With the war, the story became even more relevant and began to resonate even more.
How did the film end up on Netflix?
There were years of struggles to get the film to work. It’s a historical film, sadly, who would want that story? When the German version came out, Netflix decided to finance the film. They paid for it (Dreifuss does not state the amount of the budget). It cost a lot less than people thought although it was a handsome budget. The value would be very low for an American film.
What will the Oscar campaign look like from now on?
We’re adapting to the second phase, with new promotion rules. But I think for its quality the film has to speak for itself. The ads give tremendous visibility. This film and others like Spielberg’s (“The Fabelmans”) and Martin McDonagh’s (“Inisherin’s Banshees”) are intimate, with personal stories. I think the list of nominations is diverse, with many qualities. But I really hope “Nothing new on the front” speaks for itself. I am glad that the various departments within the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) have recognized his strength. The harmonious interplay of different categories led to the nominations for the best film.
Do you think Nothing New on the Frontline can repeat what happened with Parasite (which won the Oscars for Best Picture and Best International Film)?
It’s worth dreaming about. The film exists, a dream come true. Do we have a shot at the best picture? Why not? Today he already has a career behind him that goes far beyond what I could have imagined. I just don’t want to minimize the weight of the other categories in favor of best picture.