Told in episodes, the documentary 9to5 – Days in Porn depicts the stories, the aims and the dreams of 10 extremely different people who are connected by their jobs in the adult entertainment sector – a business bigger than the music industry.
Over a period of more than 18 months, the filmmakers accompanied the protagonists and lived with them, allowing them to capture the ups and downs of not only their 9-to-5 jobs but also their lives before and after work. Their ultimate search for normalcy drives them to this life of social condemnation and the stories show how differently each person deals with the demands of their job.
With his new and until now, longest movie, Jens Hoffmann continues his trend in portraits, leaving the world of sport and adventure.
For F24, it was no risk geting involved in this popular but controversial topic. From the start, it was written in the mission to create documentaries that delivered authentic portraits, even at the risk of exploring problematic themes.
The film is strengthened by its extraordinary soundtrack, which was only possible with the help and support of the incredible musicians, coming from both independent and mainstream circles.
2008 also marks the start of film festival screenings. Launch of the film’s website is planned for the middle of May. More Information, including the trailer, can soon be found under “news”.
20 Seconds of Joy
The feature documentary, 20 Seconds of Joy, offers insight into the life, the fears and the career of BASE-Jumper Karina Hollekim, also the protagonist of Fatima’s Hand.
Within the 5-year-long project, the film depicts many emotional moments and gives the audience a view into Karina’s thoughts, while simultaneously giving them a chance to understand the psychology of extreme sports, namely why someone would risk their life for a brief moment of happiness.
20 Seconds of Joy is the first feature length film that Jens Hoffmann has made using his own script, direction and filming. If they say that life writes the best screenplay, then this movie, with its unexpected end, is its proof.
The film has already received some international awards and will surely be screened at many film festivals. Until now, its biggest achievement has been its selection to the official competition at HOTDOCS, the biggest documentary film festival in North America.
The trailer can be found on the website under ‘documentary films’ or at: http://www.myspace.com/20seconds_of_joy
Journey to the Center
Journey to the Center, the movie produced in cooperation with Ground Impact Production in Los Angeles, is a combination of adventure-story and travel-story. It follows three BASE-Jumpers on their way to central China. There, the goal is to BASE-jump into the biggest natural cave in the world: the “Tian Keng”, or the “Heavenly Pit”.
The film not only details the voyage of three friends who want to conquer the “Base-Jump of their lives”. It also portrays three very different people: Jeb Corliss (California, USA), Paul Fortun (Norway) and Douggs (Australia) who come from different cultural backgrounds and have completely different ways of thinking but have a common goal, which takes more than just passion and expertise to accomplish.
The documentary was shot in China and edited in Munich and Malibu. The score and sound design were completed at the ROOM in Venice Beach. The animation was done by Big Machine in Los Angeles. All the technical visuals were done post production at ARRI in Munich.
Journey to the Center will first be shown on American TV.
Fatima's Hand
The touching movie, Fatima’s Hand, was not planned to be self-standing. Instead, filming was intended for the movie, 20 Seconds of Joy. However, while the crew was working on the project in the remote area of the Sahel desert in Mali (West Africa), Jens Hoffmann was convinced that the experience had to be made into its own movie.
The documentary shows not only the difficulty of the expedition and the mystical mountain called “The Hand of Fatima”, but also the adverse conditions in which the African inhabitants have to deal with daily. Fatima’s Hand was also produced to help those who, during filming, became very close to the crew: the children of Daari. Only through the help of many, like composer Yullwin Mak, ARRI Film and the Giesing Team was the movie possible. All cash prizes from film festivals went directly toward the construction of a well, which was finished at the end of 2006. Since, we have also worked with Rafael Jariod Franco, who has just finished building a school in Garmi. We still support his organization as much as we can and we hope that the movie remains a success and allows us to continue helping the people of Mali.
The trailer can be found on the website under ‘documentary films’ or at: http://www.myspace.com/fatimashand