WHO AM I – NO SYSTEM IS SAFE
2015 Films
•
1h 45m
BENJAMIN (TOM SCHILLING) is a nobody, an outsider. This changes when he meets the charismatic MAX (ELYAS M‘BAREK). The two of them couldn‘t be more different, but they share one mutual interest: hacking. Together with Max‘s friends, impulsive STEPHAN (WOTAN WILKE MÖHRING) and paranoid PAUL (ANTOINE MONOT) they form the subversive hacker group CLAY (CLOWNS LAUGHING @ YOU). CLAY provokes with hilarious hacks and has the finger on the pulse of a whole generation. For the first time in his life Benjamin feels like he belongs and even attractive MARIE (HANNAH HERZSPRUNG) starts to notice him. What started out as fun soon turns deadly serious, when Benjamin and CLAY are suddenly investigated by German Secret Service and Europol. With HANNE LINDBERG (TRINE DYRHOLM), the leading Europol cybercrime investigator, at their heels, Benjamin starts to realize that he is no longer a nobody, but one of the most wanted hackers of the world.
Direction: Baran bo Odar
Script: Jantje Friese, Baran bo Odar
Production: Max Wiedemann, , Quirin Berg
Cinematography: Nikolaus Summerer
Editing: Robert Rzesacz
Production Design: Silke Buhr
Costume Design: Ramona Klinikowski
Sound: Daniel Weis, Florian Holzner
Original Score: Michael Kamm
Cast: Tom Schilling, Elyas M'Barek, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Antoine Monot, Hannah Herzsprung, Trine Dyrholm, Stephan Kampwirth
Original Title: WHO AM I – KEIN SYSTEM IST SICHER
Original Language: German
Film Production Country: Germany
Website: http://www.whoami-film.de/site/
Statement of the Director/s
This is not a movie about hacking. This is a film about the search for identity. This isa superhero story.
From the outset, it was clear to me that we needed a new, unconventional and above all, cinematic approach to delve into the world of hackers. For me, it was important to break with the stereotypical image of the pimply hacker at his computer and rather to give insights into the unfamiliar and exciting elements of hacking. Because essentially, hacking isn't any different from breaking in. According to the prevailing opinion, network break-ins aren't physical but performed at a computer, but the reality is quite different. Hacking is often a complex action that takes place both in the real as well as in the virtual world. Most of the major hack actions have always been a combination of technical expertise and successful social engineering. And social engineering is nothing but social manipulation, also called social hacking. The manipulation of people to gain access to data or passwords. This approach immediately appealed to me because it shows hackers being active and makes hacking physical.
When I started researching the topic of hackers, I was completely fascinated by the actions and tricks that hackers and internet activists were using on a daily basis, and the "lulz" (fun) they had while doing it. We spend every day at the computer; navigate the net, unaware of what is happening there simultaneously. The online world is a virtual underground. The majority of computer users has no idea what goes on in this world, who rules it, which laws govern it – and hardly anyone suspects that there really is a "cyber mafia". Everyone and everything can be hacked, and the biggest security vulnerabilities are always to be found in humans rather than in computers and software.
In addition to the challenge of making a modern movie about hackers, I was especially interested in the dramatic foundation of the story. First and foremost, WHOAMI is a superhero story about a young, talented but lonely man looking for his true identity. CLAY embodies everything that Benjamin is desperately missing in life. And like any superhero, Benjamin eventually realizes that he possesses all the skills of his alter-ego even when he's not in costume.
Biography of the Director/s
BARAN BO ODAR was born in Switzerland in 1978 and studied directing at the Munich Film School (HFF München) at 1998. He has worked on several commercials, music videos and award winning short films since. His feature debut film THE SILENCE (starring Ulrich Thomson, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Burghart Klaussner and Katrin Sass), which premiered at the Piazza Grande in Locarno in 2010, went on to an exciting festival tour, winning lots of prices, selling to over 20 countries worldwide and gained Baran bo Odar a spot as one of the Variety‘s Ten Directors to Watch of 2011.
Currently Baran bo Odar is working on 45 MINUTES, an international thriller with Wiedemann & Berg Film, BAD GIRLS, an action comedy with Working Title and DARK, a crime drama mini TV series with Scott Free.
Filmography (Selected Feature Films and Awards):
2014 WHO AM I – NO SYSTEM IS SAFE
Thriller – 105 min, cinemascope
Writer: Baran bo Odar & Jantje Friese, Director: Baran bo Odar
2010 THE SILENCE
Thriller/Drama – 118 min, 35mm, cinemascope
written & directed by Baran bo Odar
Awards & Festivals:
Award for Best Adaptation 2010 (Frankfurt Book Fair)
Locarno Film Festival 2010
Pusan Film Festival 2010
Stockholm Film Festival 2010
Palm Spring Film Festival 2011
Whistler Film Festival 2010
Cameraimage Film Festival 2010
Sao Paulo Film Festival 2010
Cleveland Film Festival 2011
Los Angeles German Currents Festival 2010
San Francisco Berlin & Beyond Festival 2010
Directors Guild of America New York 2010
Reel Talk Toronto 2010
Film Comments Selects New York 2010
Goethe Institut Film Festival Washington 2011
Munich Film Festival 2010
Goethe Institut Film Tour Australia 2011
Awards Won
German Film Award – Best Set Design, German Film Award – Best Sound Design, German Film Award – Best Editing
World Sales:
TrustNordisk ApS
Filmbyen 22
Hvidovre, 2650, Denmark
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +45 3686 8788
Website: http://www.trustnordisk.com/
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