But I wouldn‘t dare to guess if it really meant a relief to see his own story on screen. And of course he provided enormous insight on the criminal details and the emotional side. I had a basic idea of what Wolfgang Sielaff had gone through. What was that process like? Do you think the series helped to give him more closure? But in Northern Germany, many people my age can remember that there was this fear of a mysterious Dark Woods Killer, which spread across the region for many years.īirgit’s brother, Wolfgang Sielaff, whom Thomas Bethge is based on, was an advisor on the project. But overall, I would say that we stayed pretty close to the real events.ĭid you follow the case before you decided to make this series?Īs I was a kid back in ‘89, I hadn’t heard about it. It was a matter of respect, to stick to the real facts as much as possible, but we also agreed upon the fact that we would have to fictionalize certain characters and elements of the true story. We were in close contact to the real persons involved in the case. How closely did you stick to the real-life case of Birgit Meier? In a fictional project, people wouldn‘t have had the guts to greenlight the series, because it would have seemed too unreal. The fact that all of this really happened gave us the freedom to just tell it. Why did you choose a true crime story rather than strictly fiction?īecause this story was better than fiction. A story about the victims and the devastating effects of a crime on relationships and family-that was an interesting angle for me. Secondly, the epic arc over 30 years-the impact a crime has not only directly after it’s committed, but also decades later-was a new perspective on the crime genre for me. ![]() ![]() They are all loaded with interesting and complex stories, yet you‘ll have a strong empathic connection to them. And it applies to all the characters in the series. A detective who struggles to solve his most important case, who has to fulfill his destiny or be defeated by his own failure-this is the kind of conflict you would be happy to have in any of your stories. What attracted you to retelling this true story?įirstly, this story has amazing characters, almost too good to be real. I was involved in the script development almost from the first hour. So we all had a common base to incorporate the true events into a fictional story. The ideas I shared happened to match the ones of writer Stefan Kolditz. Still, the true story was so gripping, I was instantly hooked. There was no script or fictional text yet. I was provided with a press folder with various articles about the true case. I was asked by producer Marc Conrad and commissioning editor Christian Granderath if I would like to share my vision for this story. Get an exclusive glimpse at the making of “Dark Woods” and then be sure to watch the series, only on Topic. Topic sat down with Bohse to discuss the process of filming, from enlisting Birgit’s real brother as a story advisor to achieving a realistic aging effect for the characters. Bohse did just that with his gripping retelling of the twisted events of summer 1989. ![]() It would take someone particularly adroit to execute it with accuracy and artistry. ![]() Because of the duration of the events, the story was equally compelling and challenging to adapt. The series follows the search for Barbara Neder (who is based on Birgit Meier) by her brother, Thomas, and a young rookie cop named Anne. In director Sven Bohse’s narrative adaptation of the true crime, “Dark Woods,” the events and characters are portrayed with both authenticity and cinematic finesse. Subscribe now to stream your new favorite crime thrillers.
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