12/05/2019
NEWS STORY
The story of Michael Schumacher is the subject of an international cinema documentary to be released at the end of the year, to mark his 50th birthday and the 25th anniversary of his first world championship victory.
Schumacher is the official documentary authorised by his family about the record world champion, arguably the most successful F1 driver of all time.
A film that seeks explanations and provides answers without glossing over things, the name Michael Schumacher still electrifies people all over the world.
Conversations with his father Rolf, his wife Corinna, his children Gina and Mick and of course with the key figures of his life and companions of his career bring us closer to the man under the helmet who is known worldwide and yet has remained a stranger for many.
The highlights of his F1 career, his sporting highs and lows, will be as much a part of this story as previously unseen archive material, which illuminates the uncompromising driver, ambitious boy, pragmatic mechanic and team player as well as the family man.
It tells the story of a boy who doesn't even dare to dream of the records he will later break, and whose career seems to end several times before it has really started.
It is remarkable how intensively and sensitively both Schumacher's companions and his competitors talk about him: as a friend and companion, as well as his extraordinary talent and his unique work ethic, which made him arguably the best driver of all time.
Even though his racing cars grew bigger and faster over the years and his successes made him a superstar, Schumacher remained a calm, reserved person with clear values and a family above all else. His family, loyalty and friendship were always more important to him than prominence, money and the worldwide attention that the racing circus brings with it.
If this were a fictional script, it would be impossible for the authors to invent this story better - and at the same time more tragic.
Award-winning German filmmakers Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertons are directing the documentary, while Benjamin Seikel and Vanessa Nocker 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.
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 Schroder and Marine Le Pen.
Renowned print editor Kammertons joined the team of the Hamburg weekly newspaper Die Zeit in 1989, where today he is their Senior Editor. Kammertons worked as co-author of TV documentaries for ARD and Arte.
Together, Wech and Kammertons have made Gunter Sachs: Der Lebenskunstler, Der Mann, der Udo Jurgens ist and Boris Becker: Der Spieler, which were licensed to several European television stations and Netflix.
"It is an important year for Michael Schumacher," said Seikel, "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."
"It is time for a film," adds Nocker. "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."