Directors rebel: At 50 you're too old

If it's true that television depicts social conditions, then the same should apply to the people behind the camera.

And then, in addition to the gender debate, which tends to decompose society, a second battlefield is opened up: age discrimination.

What is surprising is the harshness with which the subject was revealed at the Director's Day at the Munich Film Festival.

Successful masters of their trade, such as "Tatort" veteran Thomas Jauch, Jobst Oetzmann and Christian Wagner, described to the director of television play 2 at ZDF, Matthias Pfeifer, who had traveled from Mainz, how poor their employment opportunities were - sacrificed to a youth cult in the public legal broadcasters, which is not justified in terms of content.

The fact that the directors also complain about age discrimination for everyone over the age of forty, i.e. for precisely those

"Bring me someone who is under thirty and preferably a woman"

One person who has nothing left to lose because he has already been sidelined is the author and director Rolf Silber, an independent thinker, co-founder of U5 film production in Frankfurt and one of five board members in the Federal Association of Directors.

"The young people," he said, are currently accommodating "that the industry is - still - shooting until the doctor comes and the motto allegedly issued by the broadcasters: 'Bring me someone who is under thirty and preferably a woman'".

At the same time, young colleagues got in touch and were presented with contractual and filming conditions that they would not have dared to present to older people.

"And we ask ourselves whether there are connections." Silber reports that one is already considered "old" at fifty.

"So an age that used to be one where directors were expected to produce films,

who arose from the peak of their work." Now the problem is "existential because - sometimes overnight - careers and thus livelihoods are destroyed." Director Thomas Jauch said he was glad that he was already "in the sunset" of his career .

"If I were 50, I would be afraid." It also happened to him not just once that he was offered a directorship "and two weeks later it was said: You're not going to do it.

A woman should do that now.”

that he was offered to direct "and two weeks later they said: You're not going to do it.

A woman should do that now.”

that he was offered to direct "and two weeks later it was said: You're not going to do it.

A woman should do that now.”

"It's right that we're just switching to a more mixed, more diverse audience," said ZDF man Pfeifer, his station has so far mainly had older viewers.

The director Norbert Himmler recognized that you have to reach younger audiences: "Because they don't look at us anymore - not even in the media library." It is clear "that we spend too much money for the old audience and almost nothing for them Boys.

That is being changed right now.” That doesn’t mean that you are no longer producing anything for the older people, but it is the reason “why there is a massive shift going on”.

And yes, a trainee program has been set up for young female directors who, after their debut in the small television drama, are to be guided “to industrial work”.

And what speaks against giving young people a neo-drama series?

Director Elena Alvarez, on the other hand, pointed out that younger often means more appropriate: “Effi Briest wrote Fontane when she was 75.

When I look at what's on at the film festival under 'New German Television', it's okay and solid, but not innovative and cool.” Jobst Oetzmann couldn't believe that the question of direction was no longer answered in terms of content.

"I find that disastrous.

We don't just have the gender debate.

We also have old versus young.”

In an interview, Matthias Pfeifer says that he “totally understands the bitterness.

If you didn't get away with innovative ideas in the past and the market is now more open to a variety of stories that you want to take part in." But you have to bring more innovation into some formats.

They prioritize formats that need “real money” and develop other ones that don’t need as much without sacrificing quality.

For example "instant fiction" that was created during the Corona period.

It's about new productions like "Love Now", which "bring zeitgeist as quickly as possible to the media libraries" with little means.

This is how you achieve a big effect for little money.

It does not automatically apply “that if the production conditions are worse, the program must also be worse.

The directors gathered in Munich will not share the assessment.

And it's not a question of age.