Oscar Goes German

Students learn to Relax with their

by Michelle Simmons

July 1, 2009

Front row (from left): Josh Salim '09, Peter Boshkov '09, Ian Van Son '09. Back row (from left): Julia Mueller, Stephan Zeigler, Assistant Professor of German Sarah McCaughey and Lizzy Price '09.

The film opens with a split screen and a cell phone ringing in the background. Two young faces fill the screen, their eyes closed. They awaken and soon begin sniping at each other—in German.

Relax, a film adaptation of Alexa Hennig von Lange’s debut novel, offers a stark and gritty mood, a multinational Dickinson cast and some serious talent in filmmakers Josh Salim ’09 and Ian Van Son ’09.

Part of a larger German popular-literature movement, Relax is a blend of pop-culture references, gender-relations analysis and 20-something disaffection. A modern-day Catcher in the Rye, according to the author, the story traces the ups and downs of the two main characters, Chris and “die Kleine” (the girl), during the course of one weekend.

Salim and Van Son were introduced to the novel in German Pop!, a course taught by Sarah McGaughey, assistant professor of German. Instead of writing the usual research paper for their final projects, they made a film, the latest in a series of artistic collaborations that began during their junior year at Dickinson’s study-abroad site in Bremen, Germany.

Salim and Van Son weren’t bowled over by the story—they questioned the superficiality of the characters. But it was structured in an interesting way, and they saw the visual possibilities.

“I liked the book—it had a filmic quality to it,” said Salim, a studio-art major whose primary medium is video art. “I saw it in a cinematic way.”

So during Thanksgiving break, he wrote the script for the male character, Chris, and Van Son scripted die Kleine’s lines. They then set out to convince other German-speaking Dickinsonians to submit to a two-week filming schedule right before finals. It turned out not to be a problem.

Lead actors Peter Boshkov ’09 and Lizzy Price ’09 both had some acting experience—Boshkov had appeared in some of Salim’s other video-art pieces, and Price had acted in high school and performed in several Dickinson dance productions.

“Ian asked me to do it because he knew I spoke German, and I didn’t really know what I had gotten myself into,” Price recalled. “He sent me the script, and it was 50 pages long.”

Though neither Boshkov nor Price was familiar with the novel, they enjoyed being part of the project, especially with Salim and Van Son in charge.

“Ian and Josh were like real directors, setting up scenes and telling me where to move,” Price said. “They were very encouraging and patient, and they obviously enjoy the process of making films.”

Boshkov agreed. “I felt comfortable and confident in the project. The movie was also a good opportunity for me to find some practical application of my German skills. I won’t hide that I’m not exactly fluent in the language, and Relax was a nice chance for me to practice German and have fun with it.”

The budget was nonexistent, employing borrowed equipment from technology services in Bosler Hall and Price’s apartment as the primary set. Van Son and Salim took turns behind the camera, and Van Son also played Lenny, Chris’ sidekick.

“Making films has [intrigued] me for a while,” said Van Son. “It’s a lot of fun.”

German exchange students pitched in, with Julia Mueller portraying die Kleine’s friend Barbara and Stephan Ziegler as “er selbst” (himself). Salim’s roommate, Christian Meade ’08, was pressed into service as best boy, the on-location assistant.

The filmmakers pulled together a 15-minute version for the class at the end of the fall semester. After another semester of collaborative editing, they premiered their 50-minute feature on April 18 in Bosler Hall, to the delight of German Club members, cast and crew.

“They took a very long novel, made it into a compact movie without losing any of the characters,” noted McGaughey. “This excited them so much—it was bringing their classroom discussions into the external world.”

She plans to use the film in future German Pop! classes and encouraged Salim and Van Son to send a copy of the final cut to the writer.

Van Son and Salim are taking a year to work—Van Son in Washington, D.C., and Salim as a freelance video editor—before they apply to graduate school. They already are working on other projects, though Salim, a recipient of the Emil and Tamar Weiss Prize in the Creative Arts, acknowledged at the premiere that he was fine-tuning another version of the film.

“I can always use the stuff later on,” he admitted. “I never say they’re finished. If I experience an idea that reminds me of a project, I’ll work on it again.”

That this was a labor of love was obvious to everyone at the premiere. Boshkov and Price expressed both relief and admiration over how well-edited the film was, and McGaughey pointed out the apt choice of music.

“I can’t imagine how many hours you put into this,” she said to Salim and Van Son. With a flourish, McGaughey then handed out “goldene Zwerge” (gold gnomes) to everyone in the cast and crew.