Two faces

Movie
Original title	Two faces
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	2014
length	24 minutes
Rod
Director	Christian Schäfer
script	Glenn Büsing
production	anyway eV , ; DFB cultural foundation
music	Marek Neichel
camera	Max Jonas Fohrbeck
cut	Max Jonas Fohrbeck
occupation
	David Brückner: Jonathan; Leopold Klieeisen : Mark; Lean Fargel: Nicklas "Nick" Hartmann; Hanno Friedrich : Trainer; Marco Balthasar Najwer: Lars; Lilu Prudlo: Hannah; Klaus Nierhoff : Waiter Klaus; Frank Montenbruck : team doctor;

Two faces is a German short film that was produced in 2014 by anyway eV in official cooperation with the DFB 's cultural foundation . The intention was to take stock of the issue of homophobia in football in the form of a feature film , something that had never been done before in Germany. Funders of the film project were u. a. the Middle Rhine Football Association and the City of Cologne . The film premiered on November 20, 2014 in the German Sports and Olympic Museum and has been available on YouTube ever since . Shortly afterwards, Two Faces was nominated for the 2015 German Young Talent Award.

content

Everything seems to be going well for Jonathan: Together with his best friend Mark, the 18-year-old plays in the midfield of an up-and-coming soccer team in the U-19 Bundesliga and has a girlfriend, Hannah, who regularly watches training.

But appearances are deceptive: Hannah is really just Jonathan's unhappy ex-girlfriend. She is getting tired of having to act as his alibi because she knows his secret - Jonathan is gay and secretly meets up on sex dates with other guys he meets online. Only Hannah's patience and the rest of her feelings for Jonathan keep his facade upright, while the club coach is worried about the increasing number of bad passes in the game, and team rival Lars already sees his chances. When Mark accidentally reads a private text message from Jonathan, he learns that his friend has been secretly dating someone other than Hannah for some time. That someone later turns out to be the extroverted Nick, who is openly gay and introduces the inexperienced Jonathan into the gay scene. Jonathan enjoys the newly discovered attitude to life, but he also has existential questions about whether the world of football can be reconciled with the gay world and whether he is even ready for it. Jonathan's facade in the club finally begins to crumble when the pressure he puts on himself leads to increasingly conspicuous behavior, which calls for competitor Lars on the scene. After a strange incident, Lars stirs up the rumor that Jonathan might be gay, starts a targeted bullying campaign against him and, after a training session, beats up Mark who is trying to defend Jonathan. Hannah, who has observed this, can no longer keep her secret to herself and out Jonathan in front of the entire team.

Lars seems to have achieved his goal. Jonathan can hardly withstand the psychological pressure and is about to give up his dream of professional football. But his best friend Mark and above all the coach (“What counts for me is what happens on the pitch, not under the covers.”) Can awaken Jonathan's passion for football and hope for a successful future in him and at the same time Bring the realities of life to mind. Jonathan is now trusting again and decides to take on the challenges of the future.

Media and public interest

In January 2014 which had coming out of Thomas Hitzlsperger , the discussion about homophobia in football rekindled. In this respect, the production Two Faces, financed by the DFB-Kulturstiftung, aroused media interest even during its creation. For example, while the film was being made , Deutsche Welle published an interview with the young, homosexual professional soccer player Nico Schulte, as parts of the script are based on Schulte's personal experiences - who at the time wanted to remain anonymous. Later, for example, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on the film in connection with the consequences of Hitzlsperger's coming out, who in turn found himself positive in an interview campaign alongside other sports experts and media celebrities such as Tom Bartels , Claudia Roth or Hella von Sinnen to two faces expressed. Shortly afterwards, in February 2015, RTL broadcast a magazine article on the subject of homosexuality in football-Thomas Hitzlsperger- Two Faces , in which Nico Schulte, who has since been outed, also had a say.

In May 2016 Christian Schäfer and Glenn Büsing as well as CTC initiator and two faces supporter Andreas Stiene were guests of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament as representatives of the project to openly discuss homosexuality in football with the members of the sports committee. The meeting revealed that the topic of homophobia is still present, but is little present, let alone topical, in the football associations. As before, the brochure Football and Homosexuality and the film Two Faces were the only flagship products with which the German Football Association publicly advertised.

Independently of this, 1. FC Köln - as the only Bundesliga club - advertised using the film for anti-discrimination workshops with its U16s. In addition, Two Faces was used by the initiative School without Racism - School with Courage for educational events on the topics of coming out, identity, homophobia and growing up in schools.

Festival participation

2015: Floodlight Football Film Festival, Basel
2015: up-and-coming Int. Film Festival Hannover (nomination for the German Young Talent Award)
2016: Freiburg Gay Film Week
2016: 11mm - 1st NRW Football Film Festival
2017: School film days for tolerance and against homophobia

criticism

Film reviewer and sports lawyer Jan F. Orth attests that two faces have a professional signature:

“Overall, the technical design of the film deserves praise. In particular, director, camera, editing and music, with their professional contributions, also make a significant contribution to ensuring that the overall product finds its place among professional cinematic works in this regard. Editing and music contribute significantly to the film's special ability to convey difficult, ambivalent moods and their changes to the audience. "

Orth finds socially critical words about the content and production conditions:

“In its socio-political assessment, the film shows, at worst, the ever-present discrimination and, at best, the omnipresent reservations that (young) gay men in football (and in our country) are actually still exposed to every day. In doing so, he describes a reality that is necessary for fighting and which has not changed in 2014 despite the litany-like emphasis on the opposite by some football association officials. "