HEIDI was produced by Uli Putz and Jakob Claussen of Claussen+Putz Filmproduktion (Krabat, Jenseits der Stille), and Reto Schaerli and Lukas Hobi of Zodiac Pictures (Stationspiraten, Achtung, fertig, WK!) in co-production with STUDIOCANAL Film GmbH. This is the second cooperation between the producers and director Alain Gsponer after Das kleine Gespenst, the successful film adaptation of Otfried Preußler's children's book.

The Beginnings of the Project

You will be hard pressed to find anyone who does not have special associations and memories connected to "Heidi". Some will be immediately reminded of the song by Gitti and Erika, who accompanied the broadcast of the Japanese series from animation giant Hayao Miyazaki in the seventies: "Deine Welt sind die Berge!

"Some will think of Shirley Temple, others of the Swiss adaptation from the fifties, which is seen as one of the classics of post-war German cinema. Some will have immediate associations with an untouched mountain idyll.

Or names like Peter, Almöhi or Fräulein Rottenmeier will go through your head. And others will remember with fascination the timeless novels by Johanna Spyri, who brought "Heidi" to life in the second half of the 19th century.

"Like many Swiss people, I know the story of 'Heidi' very well, but I had never read the books before", admits Lukas Hobi. "Our generation is more familiar with the story from the animes and the films. After I read the novels, I completely fell in love with them. I had the impression that I had not seen what I had just been reading in the films at all. This discovery was the moment the project was born.

The Adaptation of the Novels

Petra Volpe started writing in early 2009. Studying the Johanna Spyri originals was essential to working on the material. "At first, we took both novels – 'Heidi's Lehr- und Wanderjahre' from 1879 and 'Heidi kann brauchen was es gelernt hat' from 1880 – as the basis for the film", Hobi remembers. "Then we found the character of Heidi, this wild, maladjusted girl, incredibly interesting. And we did not lose sight of this when choosing the cast. We didn't want a cute, sweet child, but a wild child. Heidi is a girl with a unique character who resists structures and hierarchies."

At this point, Claussen+Putz came on board as German co-production partners. They had already had dealings and experiences with each other when cooperating on Das kleine Gespenst (2013), and realised that they were pulling in the same direction. Hobi says: "We realised very quickly that HEIDI could not be financed from Switzerland alone, because the Swiss market is too small and our possible sponsors would therefore also be too small. So we looked for a solution for presenting the film internationally without losing control."

The Child Actors in the Film

The search for suitable actors, especially for the title role, was very important. Jakob Claussen remembers: "It had to be a girl who would be able to win over people's hearts." The film team came across Anuk Steffen early on in their search, as Lukas Hobi says: "Amazingly, we found Anuk Steffen very early on but then still considered other options for a very long time. But after looking for several months we came back to Anuk after all."

"Anuk can do it" – that is also the clear opinion of Bruno Ganz, who can be seen at her side as Almöhi. "She is an unusual girl. She is very alert, intelligent, incredibly communicative and has enormous perception. And then - wow – she is back to being a nine-year-old child again. That is fascinating." And working with a nine-year-old acting partner? "You're not only working with a child, but also a layperson", Ganz says. "So you have no expectations that she has to be able to do this. Alain then says a few things to her, she mostly just listens but sometimes she asks a few questions too – and then she comes and does it. And it works most of the time too. Phenomenal."

The Locations for the Film

One special challenge was the fact that the supposed natural idyll of Switzerland was no longer nearly as untouched as one would like to believe. "It really is amazing", notes Hobi. "You walk through the Swiss mountains and enjoy the splendid panorama, and when you look at the film recordings you are amazed at how many wires, ski lifts and streets pop up in the background. So there was a considerable amount of airbrushing to be done at the end." Uli Putz adds: "Audiences today do not want to see any mistakes; they have been spoiled by the big American productions. So HEIDI has a very big share of VFX: no-one will notice because they are not effects in the traditional sense, but aids to exchange roofs, change facades and remove overhead cables from railways.

And the massive, brilliant Alpine panorama must not be spoiled by meadows that have been mown with electric mowers. All this plays a big part."

The search for locations in Germany was also carried out with similar meticulousness. An equal amount of energy and passion was invested in the sets at the locations.

Synopsis

Orphan girl Heidi spends the happiest days of her childhood together with her eccentric grandfather, Almöhi, cut off from the outside world in a simple cabin in the Swiss mountains. Together with her friend Peter, she tends to Almöhi's goats and enjoys freedom in the mountains to the fullest. But these carefree times come to an abrupt end when Heidi is taken to Frankfurt by her aunt Dete. The idea is for her to stay with the family of the wealthy Mr. Sesemann and be a playmate for his wheelchair-bound daughter Klara, while also learning to read and write under the supervision of the strict nanny, Fräulein Rottenmeier. Although the two girls soon become friends and Klara's grandmother awakes a passion for books in Heidi, her longing for her beloved mountains and Almöhi grows ever stronger…

Heidi

Director: Alain Gsponer

Cast: Bruno Ganz , Anuk Steffen, Katharina Schuttler, Peter Lohmeyer

Genre: Drama

Duration: 111 mins

Category: I

Trailer: https://youtu.be/8JP1mLoj6r0