David Safier

Safier in his regular café in Bremen, 2020

David Safier [ 'sa: fiɐ ] (born December 13, 1966 in Bremen ) is a German screenwriter and writer .

biography

Safier grew up in Bremen. After graduating from high school, he trained as a journalist. At the radio station Bremen 4 he worked for a few years as an editor and head of duty , later he also moderated at Bremen Eins and was editor for the television editorial team Buten und Binnen . In 1992 he and Arnd Zeigler developed the Bundesliga Flashback series (today: Zeigler's wonderful world of football ).

Since 1996 Safier has also been known as a screenwriter for various German film and television formats and has been awarded the Grimme Prize and the International Emmy (the American television Oscar) for the series Berlin, Berlin .

In 2007 he finally made his debut with his humorous novel Bad Karma . His books, including Shakespeare Suddenly, for 28 days, Jesus Loves Me, Moo !, and Happy Family reached millions of copies.

Safier primarily published comedies, but the author also processes the life and suffering of his own family in his books, especially 28 days long is worth mentioning here. His Jewish father had to flee Vienna in 1938, his mother grew up in Bremen as a war child. - "Everything I know about my father and mother, I put together from brief moments. I never dared to ask - out of respect or whatever". Safier's sister also died of cancer at the age of 35. For this reason, too, the subject of mortality has a special place in his works.

He is an ambassador for the Reading Foundation , the Joshuas Engelreich children 's hospice and the Pegasus Friends' Association . In 2010 he founded his own foundation, which he called the Gutes Karma Foundation based on his first novel .

Today David Safier lives and works in Bremen . He is married with two grown sons and a dog named Max.

Works

TV and film scripts

Safier wrote the dialogue scripts for Nikola (1997–1999), Himmel und Erde (1998), Die Camper (1998–1999), Die Schule am See (1999) and Mein Leben & Ich (2000–2003). For the book for the series Mein Leben & Ich , he was awarded the MDR Children's Film and Television Prize Golden Spatz in 2003 . Furthermore, the series was nominated in 2003 for the Grimme Prize in the Grimme Special category.

Berlin, Berlin

→ Main article: Berlin, Berlin

With Radio Bremen in 2001 he developed the sitcom Berlin, Berlin as the main author . In 2003 he was awarded the Adolf Grimme Prize in the fiction and entertainment category. In 2002 the early evening series had already been awarded the German Television Prize. The jury judged Safier's scripts to be free of any “... tendency towards loudmouthed drama or papery pathos”. He describes his characters, played by Felicitas Woll , Jan Sosniok , Sandra Borgmann and Florian David Fitz , among others, "... laconic, but precise, but without assigning and defining them in too many sentences". In 2004 Berlin and Berlin also won the important American Emmy television award in the Best Comedy category . In 2005 she was nominated for the award again.

Two angels for Cupid

In addition, Safier was the inventor and main author of the ARD evening series Zwei Engel für Amor (2006). Here, among others, Theresa Scholze played as Kim, who is commissioned by Amor to act as a messenger of love, and Jochen Schropp , as Andi, with. In 2007 the series was also nominated for the Grimme Prize .

Berlin, Berlin - The film

→ Main article: Berlin, Berlin - The film

15 years after the end of the previous evening series, the sequel to Berlin, Berlin should come to German cinemas in the form of a feature film in March 2020. The actors such as Felicitas Woll , Jan Sosniok , Matthias Klimsa and Sandra Borgmann slipped into their familiar roles again for the reunion and were supplemented by Janina Uhse , Christian Tramitz and Detlev Buck , among others . However, due to the Covid 19 pandemic , the cinema release had to be postponed and ultimately canceled. Instead, the film premiered on the streaming service provider Netflix in May 2020 . Together with the entire series, Berlin, Berlin - The Film on Netflix already had 4,000,000 viewers in the first month.

In the German feature film led Franziska Meyer Price Director. Series creator Safier wrote the script together with his son Ben Safier.

Novels

Overall, Safier's novels have sold more than five million books. The books appear in over 50 countries. Safier's works were on the bestseller lists in Spain, Italy, France and most South American countries, among others. Safier's novels have also been published in audio book format. He also wrote the radio play adaptation of the play Love is looking for a room by Jerzy Jurandot, which was performed in the Warsaw ghetto and whose text he had rediscovered. The radio play was nominated for the ARD German Radio Play Award.

Bad Karma (2007)

The successful but ruthless TV presenter Kim Lange is killed by the sink of a Russian space station. She is reborn as an ant from accumulating too much bad karma . From now on, her purpose in life is to accumulate good karma in order to climb the reincarnation ladder and regain a place in the heart of her family. There are often cross-references and hidden Easter eggs in Safier's works . In Lousy Karma , it is the name of Kim's husband - Alex Weingart - who was named after one of the roles from Berlin, Berlin . Bad Karma also appeared as a radio play produced by the NDR . Later at Argon Verlag , read by Nana Spier and Christoph Maria Herbst , also as an audio book . In 2011 the Kosmos Verlag brought out a game by Matthias Cramer about Mieses Karma . In 2015, a "lost chapter" on Lousy Karma was published on the Rowohlt Verlag website, here Kim was able to climb a few steps up the reincarnation ladder and is out and about as a penguin, among other things.

Jesus loves me (2008)

Marie, not very successful in her job or in love, meets a good-looking and empathetic man, albeit a bit strange in some respects. It soon turns out that her new friend is none other than Jesus Christ aka Joshua, who returned to earth to prepare humanity for the Last Judgment . There are only a few days left until the end of the world. The novel Jesus loves me was filmed in December 2012 by and with Florian David Fitz . Jessica Schwarz played Marie in the main role. Henry Hübchen , Hannelore Elsner , Peter Prager , Palina Rojinski , Nicholas Ofczarek and Michael Gwisdek can also be seen in other roles . In 2013 Jesus Liebt Mich won the Jupiter Film Award for Best German Film. Anna Thalbach and Detlef Bierstedt recorded the audio book of the same name in a shortened version .

Suddenly Shakespeare (2010)

Lovesick Rosa is transported back to a previous life by hypnosis. Namely in the body of William Shakespeare in 1594. Rosa may only return to the present when she has found out what true love is. Meanwhile, she also has to squabble with the actual Shakespeare, with whom she shares the same body. In 2011, Shakespeare received the Austrian Favorite Book Prize as the most popular novel . The audio book published by Argon Verlag for the book was recorded again by Christoph Maria Herbst , here as Shakespeare, and by Anneke Kim Sarnau , as Rosa.

Happy Family (2011)

The Wünschmann family is not happy. Mama Emma's bookstore goes bankrupt, Papa Frank is completely overworked, the pubescent fairy stays seated and son Max is dunked into the school loo by the girl he loves. And as if all of this wasn't enough, the Wünschmanns are also enchanted by a witch after a costume party: suddenly they are vampires, Frankenstein's monster, mummy and werewolf. In August 2017, Happy Family (also known as Monster Family ) was produced as an international animated film that was released in 92 countries, but disappointed at the box office. In the original, among others, Jason Isaacs , Emily Watson , Nick Frost speak the voices, in the German dubbing Hape Kerkeling and Oliver Kalkofe . Happy Family 2 will be released in German cinemas in 2021 . Safier and author Abraham Katz work closely together on this.

Moo! (2012)

In the novel Moo! writes Safier from the perspective of the East Frisian cow Lolle. After cheating on another cow, her beloved bull champion meets an Italian tomcat. From this she learns that the farmer wants to have his cows slaughtered. On his advice, Lolle and her friends make their way to India , the land of the sacred cows , to seek their salvation there. Even in moo! You can find some Easter Eggs again , not least the name of the cow - Lolle. The Berlin, Berlin main figure also bears this name . In the audio book version, voice actor and actress Nana Spier reads again .

28 days long (2014)

→ Main article : For 28 days

For 28 days tells of the everyday life in the Warsaw ghetto of a Jewish girl named Mira at the time of National Socialism . It is dedicated to Safier's children and grandparents, the grandmother of whom died in the Łódź ghetto . Mira takes herself and her little sister Hannah through the tough everyday life in the Warsaw ghetto by smuggling food at the risk of her life. But now the entire ghetto population is to be killed. Mira joins the resistance. He can defy the overpowering SS longer than expected. The novel was awarded the prestigious Buxtehuder Bulle youth book award for 2014.

Bad karma high 2 (2015)

Daisy Becker is hoping for her breakthrough as an actress, although she is neither talented nor ambitious. She lounges, drinks and steals from her roommates. Her agent offers her a role in a James Bond film alongside Marc Barton. This is a successful but arrogant actor. Through a chain of unfortunate circumstances, both are killed in a car accident and, since both have accumulated much bad karma in their lives, are reborn as ants. Now they have to collect good karma in order to be released from the circle of rebirths. At the same time, they try to prevent Daisy's friend and Marc's widow from becoming a couple and slowly put down their animosity.

With Bad Karma to the power of 2 , Safier won the LovelyBooks readers' award in the humor category in 2015 .

Prince of Dreams (2016)

In the 2016 book Traumprinz , the dreamy comic artist Nellie has a terrible heartache and draws her dream prince in a Tibetan leather box. When she wakes up the next morning, the prince has left the drawing sheet and is standing before her in person. Together with the impetuous prince named Retro, Nellie sets out in Berlin to search for the secret of the magical notebook. Because everything that is drawn into it comes to life. In the audio book version, voice actress and actress Nana Spier reads the story of the character Nellie.

The ballad of Max and Amelie (2019)

Again Safier writes from the perspective of an animal in magical realism. This time from the point of view, the one-eyed bitch scar. One day, the gentle dog Max gets lost to the rubbish dump where Scar lives. He tells her about his wonderful home with the people and in the hope of a better life, Scar accompanies the stranger on the dangerous journey home. On the way, however, Max is plagued by nightmares. But are they really nightmares, or rather memories? The audio book will be read by Jodie Ahlborn .

Thawed (2020)

In his current work, Safier is once again concerned with the search for happiness. For thirty-three thousand years, the Stone Age lady Urga was frozen in a block of ice with a baby mammoth , but thanks to global warming they are thawing again. After taking a first look at modern mankind, the Stone Age woman would like to go straight back to the ice. But Urga is a fighter: Before she gives up, she wants to find out whether one can find happiness in this extremely strange world. Their odyssey leads them from the Arctic via India to Italy.

Book editions

• Bad karma . Kindler , Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-499-24455-1 / ISBN 978-3-463-40508-7 ( cardboard picture book ), as paperback: rororo 24455, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-499-24455- 1 .
• Jesus loves me . Kindler, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-463-40552-0 , as paperback: rororo 24811, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-499-24811-5 .
• Suddenly Shakespeare . Kindler, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-463-40553-7 , as paperback: rororo 24812, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-499-24812-2 .
• Happy family . Kindler, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-463-40618-3 , as paperback: rororo 25272, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-499-25272-3 .
• Moo! Kindler, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-463-40603-9 , as paperback: rororo, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-499-25626-4 .
• 28 days long , Kindler, Reinbek near Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-463-40640-4 (A novel about the Holocaust ); as paperback: Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-499-21174-4 ; as audio book : Maria Koschny reads David Safier for 28 days , 6 CDs (7 hours 10 minutes), directed by Lars Reschke, Argon, Berlin, 2014, ISBN 978-3-8398-1306-5 / ISBN 978-3-8398 -5207-1 (1 CD as DAISY-MP3 ).
• Bad karma to the power of 2 , Kindler-Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-463-40623-7 .
• Traumprinz, Kindler-Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-463-40604-6 .
• The ballad by Max and Amelie, Kindler, Reinbek near Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-463-40709-8 .
• Thawed, Kindler, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2020, ISBN 978-3-463-40664-0 .

Web links

• Literature by and about David Safier in the catalog of the German National Library
• David Safier's private website
• David Safier in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Interview on www.leser-welt.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hendrik Werner: A visit to best-selling author David Safier. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Kathrin Harm: Safier: "There was never a reason to go away". April 1, 2020, accessed on August 10, 2020 (German). 
3. ↑ Interview with David Safier - The Blue Side. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Gutes Karma Foundation. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
5. ↑ David Safier - Lousy Karma, content, reading sample, audio book. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
6. ↑ The lost chapter. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
7. ↑ Jesus loves me - media portal of the Evangelical and Catholic media centers. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
8. ^ David Safier - Happy Family, content, reading sample, audio book, trailer. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
9. ↑ Monster Family. Retrieved May 1, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Happy Family 2, Feature Film, 2019-2021 | Crew United. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Safier, MUH! (Paperback). Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Literature: David Safier and philosophizing cows on trips , focus.de
13. ↑ David Safier sends philosophizing cows on trips , haz.de
14. ↑ Buxtehuder Bulle goes to Bremer author Safier on: NWZ-online June 8, 2015, accessed on June 8, 2015
15. ^ Safier, Traumprinz (paperback). Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
16. ^ David Safier - The ballad of Max and Amelie. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
17. ^ Safier, Aufgetaut (paperback). Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
18. ^ Publisher information on the title
19. ↑ Review by FAZ March 21, 2014, and interview with David Safier A sign of life by Jürg Thomann on April 6, 2014