A portrait of animation producer Fabian Driehorst
FABIAN& FRED – there they are again! That’s what festivalgoers must have experienced quite often in recent years. No wonder, because FABIAN&FRED have such a high output that they are represented with at least one contribution at every relevant (animated) film festival in every festival season. The figures speak for themselves: Ahmad Saleh’s NIGHT and Marita Mayer’s I’M NOT AFRAID! went on tour in 2022, Špela Čadež’s STEAKHOUSE and Chaerin Im’s EYES AND HORNS in 2021, Frédéric Schuld’s THE CHIMNEY SWIFT in 2020 – and you could go back to 2018 or 2015. Then there are the premieres at the big A-list festivals such as the Berlinale, Toronto or Locarno, and they go on to win the big prizes: Just recently, Isabel Herguera’s feature film SULTANA’S DREAM, co-produced by FABIAN&FRED, won major awards at the Animafest in Zagreb and Annecy. This simultaneous (short film) success may not be all that unusual for studios in other countries – think of France, for example – but in Germany, with its need for improvement in the funding conditions for animated films and the studios’ often limited capacity to diversify, this is a thoroughly surprising and impressive success story. Especially as the studio is very broadly positioned in terms of animation technology.
More than enough reason to sit down with Fabian Driehorst and talk about the studio, its projects and, of course, himself. As the conversation quickly reveals, many of the cornerstones of the studio’s success have a lot to do with Driehorst himself. In May, this was once again made gloriously clear to the outside world: Fabian Driehorst was selected as one of 21 producers from 21 countries for the “Producers on the Move” programme in Cannes, an initiative of German Films in cooperation with European Film Promotion, which connects European producers with potential co-production partners and helps them to strengthen their network.
The “Producers on the Move” programme is an accolade for aspiring producers – but it took Fabian Driehorst a few years to land his dream job. Initially, he was thinking of turning his own film ideas into reality.
But first things first. After graduating from high school, Driehorst worked as a camera assistant and camera operator from 2004 to 2006, before completing his studies in directing at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne from 2006 to 2011. It was a kind of general study programme that allowed him to get a taste of everything from theory to scriptwriting and acting. An experience that still benefits him to date. It was also at this time that Driehorst developed his enthusiasm for Korean, Japanese and world cinema. A passion that has a direct impact on his work today:
“One of the reasons why we have such a diverse portfolio of films as a studio is certainly my love for international cinema, for outsider stories and for unique styles.”
One might add: Maybe, there is also a great deal of love for the humanistic, humane and optimistic gesture – after all, you won’t find any cynical or even nihilistic perspectives in the FABIAN&FRED portfolio. His first work as a director was more of a genre film: REBORN – REAL LIFE BABIES (2009) is a kind of miniature documentary in which human babies are replaced by plastic dolls.
Two subsequent directorial projects followed demonstrating that the Academy of Media Arts was decisive not only in terms of film aesthetics and expertise: Fabian Driehorst also met his fellow student and future collaborator Frédéric Schuld in Cologne. A friendship grew that was also based on shared artistic visions. First, in 2011, they co-directed the experimental video art film HOHENPEISSENBERG, in which a burning car slowly disappears into its own smoke. They then collaborated on THE CRAPMAN, a short feature film with child actors and animation elements, which was created between 2009 and 2013 – Driehorst directed and Schuld was involved as a concept artist. The duo also decided to make their graduation film together – to date the only film Driehorst has not finished. Otherwise,
“all the projects we commit to will be completed.”
This has something to do with the trust the filmmakers place in them and not wanting to disappoint – but also with the potential of a film to be fully explored. Driehorst believes that one of the main reasons for the studio’s success is this consistency, which has a lot to do with loyalty.
In 2011, after completing their studies, Driehorst and Schuld founded FABIAN&FRED in Düsseldorf, Germany. They didn’t have a major studio concept in place and tried their hand as a directing duo in the advertising sector. In 2015, their clip THE COUP: A SMALL CLEPTOMANICX ADVENTURE won them the prestigious Clio Award in the “Young Director” category, but there were not enough other interesting opportunities.
When his former fellow student David Jansen asked him if he wanted to produce his debut film, the 2D animation DÄWIT, Fabian Driehorst immediately said yes. DÄWIT is characterised by its impressive, atmospheric animation style (David Jansen and Sophie Biesenbach drew around 11,000 individual frames digitally by hand), surreal narrative elements, and its strong, emotional story about domestic violence and a broken family relationship. DÄWIT has been screened at numerous festivals worldwide and was awarded the “Golden Horseman” at the Dresden Short Film Festival. For Fabian Driehorst, DÄWIT marked his first step into the production business – and brought the realisation: This is what I want to do. However, the switch from directing to producing was a leap in the dark, although he believes that his understanding of dramaturgy and his openness to narrative styles helped him a great deal. He then acquired his skills and knowledge of production and animation from project to project, learning by doing. In his opinion, however, it is not only the administrative and legal organisation and execution of projects that make a good producer:
“What I clearly underestimated was how much psychological expertise was expected of me in my position,”
says Driehorst, summing up an important lesson. It’s all about communication and building trust, whether it’s managing the studio or dealing with projects and international teams, investors, and stakeholders. And he adds:
“This is not something you can learn at university, and yet it is perhaps the most important thing that defines our work and at the same time receives the least attention or appreciation.”
One project where this expertise and Driehorst’s desire to always see a film through to the end are being put to good use on a number of levels is currently in production: MAMA MICRA by Rebecca Blöcher und Frédéric Schuld. Originally planned as a 2D illustrated AniDoc, the film tells the story of Blöcher’s mother, who lived in her Nissan Micra for ten years after separating from Blöcher’s father and became increasingly estranged from her children as a result. Recorded conversations between Blöcher, her mother and other family members formed the basis for the 2D illustrations. However, after the mother’s death, archival footage suddenly appeared that seemed to fit perfectly with the film, and it became clear that the film could not be made in 2D. By that time, the funding had been exhausted. Since the studio doesn’t put projects on hold, things were “rearranged,” and the film is now being made as a stop-motion film with felt puppet animation. It was a compromise that best suited the artistic vision – even if it meant taking a risk with high personal costs for everyone involved.
Fabian Driehorst had already worked with Rebecca Blöcher on her film LICKALIKE (2019), her segment of the anthology feature HAPPINESS MACHINE, because this is another cornerstone in the FABIAN&FRED construct: to start of a new collaboration with the trust of a previous one. The projects with Frédéric Schuld, such as the international hit CARLOTTA’S FACE, a poetic-biographical story about face blindness, which was realised in co-direction with Valentin Riedl, are further examples of this. CARLOTTA’S FACE has been screened at around 200 festivals and won numerous awards, including the Short Tiger and the Audience Award at DOK Leipzig, as well as the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury for a film in the International Children’s and Youth Film Competition in Oberhausen – an engaging, humanistic short film that has found its audience in the most varied places: at animation film festivals, at the interface between science and art, at documentary film festivals, as well as at events for adults and children. No coincidence, of course – as with all FABIAN&FRED films, Driehorst had carefully explored the film’s potential for exploitation.
Film exploitation and distribution is a key issue for Fabian Driehorst. He says that it is absolutely essential not to wait until the production is underway to think about distribution –
“Ideally, you talk about it with the director when the material is being developed.”
Aren’t you ultimately interfering with the artistic process if you already have the ideal world premiere in mind from the very first idea? Fabian Driehorst says no. On the contrary! This close coordination often makes the film even stronger as a whole. As an example, he cites Chaerin Im’s EYES AND HORNS, a project the director presented to him at a DOK Leipzig network meeting. A technically complex film consisting of 2D Plexiglas etchings (which were later scanned) and object animation, it is inspired by Picasso’s “Vollard Suite” series of etchings but takes the obsession with aggressive masculinity ad absurdum (though this certainly works better for some viewers than others). Driehorst was also involved in the editing and sound – Chaerin Im initially wanted a classical violin, but in discussion with Driehorst the decision was made to use drums to emphasise the rhythm of the image. Right from the start, Driehorst had different audiences in mind, from dedicated art connoisseurs, animation fans, and experimental film lovers to queer cineastes, and positioned the film accordingly.
In the early days of the studio – for productions such as CARLOTTA’S FACE and others – Fabian Driehorst actually took care of the festival submissions himself, but now he designs the festival strategy and others help. As distribution is a big black box for many aspiring filmmakers, Fabian Driehorst has also taken up the issue in his role as chairperson of AG Animation – a few years ago he started advising budding animation filmmakers on the best possible distribution channels for their material. He has also promoted the distribution aspects of the industry through lectures and mentoring at Animation Sans Frontières and other platforms.
His penchant for strategic thinking is matched by a passion for international co-productions – FABIAN&FRED have now co-produced with no fewer than 14 different countries. This enthusiasm began with the Robert Bosch Prize, which Driehorst and Nermine Haddad received in 2018 together with Lebanese director Nicolas Fattouh for HOW MY GRANDMOTHER BECAME A CHAIR. The film prize, which has since sadly been discontinued, was awarded annually to three teams of young German as well as Arab filmmakers who had realised a joint film project. The prize also included a competition and training programme with tailor-made workshops for young talents from the Arab world and Germany, which has given Driehorst valuable experience in working internationally, not to mention forging friendships. He elaborates:
“It was a privilege for me to travel to these countries and the exchange has had a strong impact on me to this day, giving me a different view of the world. Perhaps that is also one of the reasons why I like to spend time in regions such as the Middle East or African and Asian countries.”
His eye for marginalised groups and the many stories they have to tell has also been sharpened and has been incorporated into his portfolio with films such as the successful SULTANA’S DREAM. The fact that international co-productions offer the advantage of various funding opportunities and creative synergies, but are often quite bureaucratic and time-consuming, does not deter Driehorst: That’s why there are minority and majority co-productions, you have to find a good mix.
SULTANA’S DREAM is FABIAN&FRED’s most prominent feature film production to date, but they only got involved when Isabel Herguera was already in the midst of making it. They are currently in the process of developing two other feature film projects: Frédéric Schuld’s STRUWWEL, a family-friendly, gender-bending version of Struwwelpeter, in which the heroine Struwwel is female, and Ahmad Saleh’s first feature-length film about growing up in Palestine – a comedy in 2D/3D. This may not be the genre that springs to mind when you think of Palestine, but that’s exactly why:
“Our view of Palestine is shaped by the media, we only ever see images of crisis, even before 7th October. The beautiful landscapes, the good food, the cheerful people are often not represented”
says Driehorst. Saleh, whose NIGHT won the “Golden Horseman” in Dresden, will certainly be able to convey (more) different perspectives.
Beyond the classic film sector, FABIAN&FRED is currently developing its first series, VANJA’S WORLD, with director Marita Mayer, who already made the successful and enchanting children’s film I’M NOT AFRAID! with the studio. It is new territory since it requires completely different partners.
“We are no longer quite so self-sufficient,”
admits Driehorst, but in Cannes he met interesting potential co-production partners from Iceland and Ireland, and he is also
“full of confidence and anticipation.”
The studio’s growth has been immense – there are now eight people, including a colleague who worked with them as an intern – and there are so many projects going on at the same time: Won’t it get too much at some point and go beyond the scope? Maybe not, because Driehorst seems relaxed and optimistic about the workload, and perhaps that’s the right approach when there are so many balls in the air. There are no specific wishes for the future. Except perhaps
“that we are trusted to ensure that the feature film projects are no less successful than the shorts”.
And that the trust of filmmakers and supporters remains. Trust as a basis, coupled with strategy – a good formula, not only for producers.