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https://vimeo.com/662547798

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3 minute pitch video for my new script Adults of Berlin. For further info please see: https://padlet.com/Kanchi_W/adultsofberlinseries

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https://flic.kr/s/aHsmU2GRJU

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Lookbook for a new six part series currently in development, Berlin 2021 LOGLINE: A group of successful friends lives go off the rails when a twenty-year old documentary resurfaces and is exposed as a lie GENRE: Offbeat Comedy.

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(Photo of Kalbells as reference only (c) Desmond Amanda Picotte)

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Script Development: Sundance Collabs March/July 2021

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Script Development: Sundance Collabs March/July 2021

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One-to-one Advisors: Angela Counts and Thania St John
https://collab.sundance.org

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Mentoring: Film Netzwerk Berlin mentor Kerstin Polte

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Mentoring: Film Netzwerk Berlin mentor Kerstin Polte

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https://filmnetzwerk-berlin.de/mentorenpaare/

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Mentoring Teilnehmer*innen - Filmnetzwerk Berlin

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Wir nutzen Cookies auf unserer Website. Einige von ihnen sind essenziell, während andere uns helfen, diese Website und Ihre Erfahrung zu verbessern.

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GENRE: Offbeat Comedy (Queering the soap opera)
FORMAT: 30 min episodes
AUDIENCE: 30+ Female/LGBTQ+
SERIES BUDGET: €250.000 p/episode
WRITER: Kanchi Wichmann (Break My Fall, Mixed Messages)
CURRENT STATUS: In Development
AVAILABLE MATERIALS: Pilot screenplay, 3 minute pitch video, lookbook, pitchdeck, draft budget
CONTACT: adultsofberlin@gmail.com

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https://kemifatoba.com/post/169279839794/diese-webserien-bringen-mehr-diversität-in

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i-D | Diese Webserien bringen mehr Diversität in Popkultur

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i-D | Diese Webserien bringen mehr Diversität in Popkultur
Wer nach authentischen Produktionen mit People of Colour und LGBTQ-Darstellern sucht, ist bei diesen Serien am besten aufgehoben.
Es ist kein...

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Kanchi is a British/German writer/director based in Los Angeles since June 2022 after ten years in Berlin. Her debut feature BREAK MY FALL (UK 2011) sold to over 20 territories worldwide. It is on the BFI list of 10 best lesbian films. Kanchi was also named on the After Ellen list ’50 directors Hollywood should be hiring’ in 2012. Kanchi’s 10-episode Berlin-set comedy web series, MIXED MESSAGES (DE 2017) is available online worldwide through various platforms.

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Newly-qualified hypnotherapist, recovering alchoholic and high-femme trans woman, Sabrina has given into partner Gemma’s wish for an open relationship, but when ex-partner Sydney comes back into her life Sabrina realises it’s time to pursue her dreams of marriage and kids of her own, with or without Gemma.

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A younger trans femme who has arrived in Berlin hoping to reinvent herself after a break-up. Yasmin works for a start up in so-called silicon allee, and after previously dating only men, she falls for Heike when they meet at the tattoo studio.

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A successful curator with plans to open her own gallery, Gemma struggles to balance the demands of ex-wife, children, career and Sabrina against her need to reinvent herself on her own terms after a messy divorce. When her new gallery venture comes under threat Gemma reaches breaking point and is forced to re-examine her choices.

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A successful gallerist who remained in the family home in Hamburg, with the kids after the break-up. The kids visit Gemma and Sabrina on alternate weekends

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A charismatic non-binary feminist academic, Sydney hides a messy (and distinctly unfeminist) past, but when their award-winning documentary is exposed as a lie, Sydney is forced to confront and heal their shame or risk losing everything.

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https://vimeo.com/user58241000

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https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3844307/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

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ADULTS OF BERLIN follows a group of queer women* in present-day Berlin who’s lives intertwine when a 20 year old documentary unexpectedly resurfaces. The documentary, an intimate portrait of a trans sex worker (Sabrina) whom the filmmaker (Sydney) meets and falls in love with whilst they are both living in a homeless hostel in London, is hailed as a taboo-busting portrayal of lesbian love on the margins.

Sydney eagerly basks in the approval of young hip young femininsts and stuffy old establishment alike. But when the truth comes out; that Sydney and Sabrina were art students, already a couple and living in a house bought by Sydney’s inheritance and, perhaps most damagingly, that Sabrina had never even done sex work, Sydney’s career and reputation plummet overnight.

Sydney reacts to the crisis by unleashing their inner teenager, refusing to go into college (despite being the professor), whilst Sabrina, feeling exposed and betrayed by Sydney, starts drinking again threatening both her new career and her relationship with Gemma.

As the drama around Sydney’s film snowballs Kazima’s attempts to play the supportive girlfriend are thwarted when the tattoo shop is sold. Kazima joins an activist group protesting the sale of the building and her own rebellious teenager take over. With no-one to play the adult Kazima and Sydney’s relationship soon starts falling apart.

Meanwhile Gemma goes into denial about both the crash of her new gallery venture and Sabrina’s meltdown, preferring to focus on her Tinder dates, but when Gemma’s two kids unexpectedly come to live with them Sabrina and Gemma find they have some growing up to do.

Can the four friends heal their pasts and come of age or are they doomed to be forever trapped in Neverland?

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(Images are for reference only)

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A group of successful 40-something friends lives go off the rails when a 20 year old documentary resurfaces and is exposed as a lie.

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Goodyn Green https://www.goodyngreen.com/3311729/between-sheets#

Joanna Legid
https://joannalegid.com

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Project Development: UDK/ Film Universität Babelsberg

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Project Development: UDK/ Film Universität Babelsberg

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https://www.ziw.udk-berlin.de/nc/en/continuing-education/artist-training/artist-training-artistic-collectives/

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Sonja Klümper and Paula Alamillo at Amardbird Films

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Sonja Klümper and Paula Alamillo at Amardbird Films

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https://www.amardbirdfilms.com/about-us

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A queer femme tattooist with anger issues, Kaz abandoned a promising art career to work in her ex-girlfriend’s tattoo studio, but when her seemingly stable life with current partner Sydney starts unravelling Kazima finally faces her demons and stops playing small.

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L-MAG.de zahl' ich freiwillig!

Online Journalismus kostet! Denn gut recherchierte Inhalte brauchen Zeit und engagierte Mitarbeiter*innen, die Texte schreiben, Informationen prüfen und Interviews führen. Unser Team setzt sich seit fast 20 Jahren für lesbische Sichtbarkeit im Netz ein.

Jeden Freitag erwartet dich hier KWord - der einzigartige Klatsch aus der Lesbenwelt. Außerdem bieten wir dir regelmäßig lesbisch-queere News aus aller Welt.

Wir wollen auch in Zukunft unsere Themen nicht hinter einer Bezahlschranke verstecken, denn wir glauben: Lesbische Anliegen gehören in die Öffentlichkeit - und zwar für alle sichtbar und lesbar.

Deshalb unterstütze uns (monatlich oder auch einmalig) und wir sorgen weiterhin für lesbischen Journalismus im Internet.
Wir sagen: Danke und Happy Pride! Dein L-MAG-Team
L-MAG.de unterstütze ich! >>

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Online Journalismus kostet! Denn gut recherchierte Inhalte brauchen Zeit und engagierte Mitarbeiter*innen, die Texte schreiben, Informationen prüfen und Interviews führen. Unser Team setzt sich seit fast 20 Jahren für lesbische Sichtbarkeit im Netz ein. Jeden Freitag erwartet dich hier KWord - der einzigartige Klatsch aus der Lesbenwelt.

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Oct. 23, 2017 - Is dating as a queer woman in Berlin difficult? According to the protagonist of the new web series Mixed Messages, it certainly seems to be. At the beginning of one of the ten episodes, we meet a British transplant to the German capital, Ren (Alana Lake), waking up hung over at a date's house, being offered breakfast in bed and a morning-after hangout. Over the course of the episode, it becomes more and more obvious that Ren has been forgotten as the date (Janni Froese) eats a lavish breakfast with her housemate. Ren makes it out of the bedroom to find out what's going on, only to discover her date has become embroiled in WG politics of who last bought coffee, since it's now run out, and why does no one else buy the fancy bio coffee anyway?

Mindfucks like this might feel hauntingly familiar to any participant in the dating scene in Berlin. British director Kanchi Wichmann based the series on her own experiences in the German capital that left her feeling confused. "Berlin is often presented as a party-goers' playground," Wichmann said. "But the flip side of all this freedom and excitement is a lot of people feeling lost, lonely, confused and insecure."

A doomed relationship conversation in the first episode covers some of the communication issues that arise in non-monogamous relationships, an arrangement that is particularly common in the Hauptstadt, compared to, say, London, where Wichmann was living previously. "People here definitely feel more liberated to explore different forms of intimacy without feeling judged," she says. "Non-monogamy is just a more acceptable way to be in a relationship, whereas in London it's more 'alternative' or going against the grain. Polyamorous relationships need a really high level of mature and open communication to function well, but I have experienced the reverse of that. In Berlin, the person is more likely to hide in the toilet or stare at you from the other side of the dance floor and leave without a word."

As Ren bumps her way through the city's queer landmarks, going on a date at Möbel Olfe, trying out a bondage workshop, or attending a meditation class, it's noticeable how diverse the characters in the scenes are. Ren's dates and friends are fat, trans, non-binary, hairy and in other ways emphatically not what the media depicts as attractive love interests for its protagonists. "The casting was really us just going 'round our friends and asking, 'Can you act?' So it wasn't that calculated in terms of representation, but I definitely had an agenda in creating an authentic image of the queer scene here, where people who look like me and my friends can be sexy and attractive." It was particularly important to her not to be tokenist in how she introduced less-represented groups by 'ticking boxes' - it's noticeable and refreshing that characters aren't defined by these labels.

"Unless we conform to heteronormative beauty standards or are hilariously funny, we are invisible in the mainstream media," says Wichmann about the representation of queer women and lesbians. "So queer female cultural producers end up making these aspirational works that can leave the audience feeling more isolated and lonely and ashamed." Just like other people, queer women are sometimes fucked up, rude and, awkward, as well as confused and confusing. Mixed Messages reflects these complicated selves in all their messy truth.
Josie Thaddeus-Johns Mixed Messages
Preview: Oct. 25, 20:00, Wolf
Release Screening: Oct. 30, 20:30, Lichtblick Kino

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'Mixed Messages' gives a humorous look at lesbian dating in Berlin

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Oct. 23, 2017 - Is dating as a queer woman in Berlin difficult? According to the protagonist of the new web series Mixed Messages, it certainly seems to be. At the beginning of one of the ten episodes, we meet a British transplant to the German capital, Ren (Alana Lake), waking up hung over at a date's house, being offered breakfast in bed and a morning-after hangout.

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Lesbian visibility is and has been a topic in Berlin for the past year - last September's L-Mag sponsored event Dyke* Out made that abundantly clear (see our November issue for more on that). And with the exception of the porn scene, there's a major dearth of Berlin films featuring lesbian characters. Kanchi Wichmann's Mixed Messages is poised to change that. An episodic journey of 36-year-old queer woman Ren (played by Alana Lake), it navigates the pitfalls of dating in Berlin, each episode resulting in "mixed messages". A refreshing take on the queer dating scene in which many of the actors play "themselves" with a candid sense of humour, Wichmann's film will leave you with anything but mixed feelings. Join us for the EXBlicks screening on Monday, October 30, 8:30pm at Lichtblick Kino in celebration of its DVD release with Wichmann in tow.

Well, it was about my personal experiences, but it then expanded into having conversations with my friends and realising that we all were dating and coming away feeling very confused by it. When I realised it was a universal problem I selflessly decided to make it about our collective experiences in a public piece of work. You'd think it wouldn't be a comedic subject when talking about these disastrous dates, but given the amount of times we ended up labelling these experiences as "mixed messages", it seemed to have this real comedic element.
So "mixed messages" is actual queer jargon?
It might be just me and my friend circle but we would all text each other asking how their date was last night and the reply usually was "mixed messages". I don't know if it's used beyond that, but it could happen after this film though.
Why did you decide to make it an episodic format rather than a single narrative?
I think because the nature of it is so repetitive. You see one person go through the same experience over and over again and if it was a feature film audiences would expect there to be some sort of narrative arc where the main character learns and achieves something. But that isn't what happens here, [Ren] almost always finds herself back to square one, because that's the experience me and my friends often felt we had. So I think that fits an episodic, almost sitcom format, as it was the nature of the material. I never considered making a web series before as I consider myself to be a filmmaker and wanted to make a second feature. But I felt this format suited the circular nature of the material so much more.
Are the situations in Mixed Messages Would you say Berlin has a commitment problem, even? exclusive to Berlin? When you're making films do you consider yourself a queer or lesbian filmmaker? If so, have you ever thought about the lack of lesbian visibility in Berlin film?
Yes, definitely. I'm only really comparing it to London as it's the only other major city I've lived in, but this was not my experience there at all. Before in London if you had dates that didn't work out, you knew where you stood with people. There would still be some sort of communication and people would move on with their lives. However, here in Berlin I felt continually baffled with dates and people I had interacted with as potential partners because there seems to be a general communication problem here.

It's like everyone's constantly hedging their bets as if there's always something better coming along. I've spoken to both male and female friends of many orientations about it and I thought it might have just been my specific scene dating lesbian women or trans people but no, it turns out from conversations I've had even with straight cis-guys, that they said they related to the film, which really surprised me at first.
It must be rewarding at least to be getting Mixed Messages EXBlicks: Mixed Messages, Oct 30, 20:30 | Lichtblick Kino, Prenzlauer Berg out there as an example of queer Berlin cinema for a wider audience to consume?
I think the film industry here is split into two levels. It's either super-DIY where you grab your friends and a camera and you make something over a weekend with varying levels of quality, or you have a super professional, TV-funded, studio-produced effort but there's nothing in the middle. I feel lesbian filmmakers are operating on that DIY level so their work is not really getting seen outside of that scene. I think that's true overall, not just Berlin, but in my experience, that lack of a middle ground seems to mean it's impossible for the DIY filmmakers, whatever their sexual orientation, to reach a wider audience.

We've got distribution for this film, which I really pushed for, so it will get seen by a wider audience, but some DIY filmmakers don't do that for various reasons, such as principles, confidence or perhaps just not having the technical standards required to achieve distribution. In America, for instance, there is a healthy indie film scene because there are distribution companies working with less experienced directors outside of Hollywood. There are at least a good number of straight women who seem to be operating at that higher level in Berlin, so that's something at least.

Yeah it's exciting because it's getting the normal trailer, posters and streaming services treatment - it's highly validating to get that. I'm really proud because I made it in an entirely DIY way, with a crew of just five people, so I feel it's a very authentic picture of both my world and my scene without having to compromise on anything such as casting or script. It's a big achievement for me as a young filmmaker and I hope I can inspire others to do the same.

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Lesbian visibility is and has been a topic in Berlin for the past year - last September's L-Mag sponsored event Dyke* Out made that abundantly clear (see our November issue for more on that). And with the exception of the porn scene, there's a major dearth of Berlin films featuring lesbian characters.

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Szene aus "Mixed Messages"

Mehr lesen: Fotos gegen soziale Ausgrenzung: Einblicke in das Leben queerer Menschen

Ich glaube, dass es immer noch diese Angst davor gibt, übergewichtige Menschen als sexy oder attraktiv darzustellen.

Ich will jetzt hier nicht auf The L-Word rumreiten, aber ich denke das ist ein ziemlich gutes Beispiel. Keine meiner Freundinnen sieht aus wie diese Frauen.

Mehr lesen: Die Fotografin, die ihre queeren Freunde so abbildet, wie sie sich selbst sehen

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Diese Serie beweist, dass Dating in Berlin furchtbar kompliziert ist

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Szene aus "Mixed Messages" Mehr lesen: Fotos gegen soziale Ausgrenzung: Einblicke in das Leben queerer Menschen Ich glaube, dass es immer noch diese Angst davor gibt, übergewichtige Menschen als sexy oder attraktiv darzustellen. Ich will jetzt hier nicht auf The L-Word rumreiten, aber ich denke das ist ein ziemlich gutes Beispiel.

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27. Oktober 2017, 04:17h, noch kein Kommentar

Ein Jahr als Single in der Berliner Lesbenszene – wie aufregend kann das sein? Die neue Serie "Mixed Messages" (Amazon-Affiliate-Link ) von der mehrfach ausgezeichneten Regisseurin Kanchi Wichmann ("Break My Fall") folgt der 36-jährigen Dyke Ren (gespielt von Newcomerin Alana Lake), die gerade von London nach Berlin gezogen ist.

Pro-Fun hat die Serie "Mixed Messages" mit deutschen Untertiteln fürs Heimkino veröffentlicht

Jede der zehn kurzen Episoden gewährt einen interessanten, authentischen und durchaus witzigen Einblick in die Berliner Lesbenszene: erstes bedeutend-unbedeutendes Anbändeln mit einer Sängerin, Speed-Dating-Sessions mit zahlreichen Frauen, Meditations- ''Kurse'' mit begleitender Bondage-Einführung sowie aufschlussreiche Gespräche in der Hängematte mit Frauen, die mehr Interesse als nur an ihrem Tinder-Profil haben.

Zwischen Zweideutigkeit, Verwirrung und dem typischen Zwischen-den-Zeilen-Humor lesbischer Berliner Frauen ist der einzige Ausweg, manchmal ein paar gemischte Nachrichten (''Mixed Messages'') zu senden

Die Heimkino-Premiere wird am Montag, den 30. Oktober um 20.30 Uhr im Berliner Lichtblick-Kino gefeiert. Regisseurin Kanchi Wichmann ist zur Vorstellung anwesend. (cw/pm)

Infos zur Serie

Mixed Messages. Die komplette erste Staffel. Comedy-Serie. Deutschland 2017. Regie: Kanchi Wichmann. Darstellerinnen: Alana Lake, Cleo Jacobe, Liz Rosenfeld, Elly Clarke, Anja Kümmel, Sadie Lune, Sergina Xuparina, Ann Antidote, Skyler Braeden Fox. Laufzeit: 74 Minuten. Sprache: englisch-deutsche Originalfassung. Untertitel: Deutsch (optional), partiell Englisch (optional). FSK 12. Pro-Fun Media

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Eine neue Serie nimmt Berlins lesbische Szene aufs Korn

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27. Oktober 2017, 04:17h, noch kein Kommentar Ein Jahr als Single in der Berliner Lesbenszene - wie aufregend kann das sein? Die neue Serie "Mixed Messages" (Amazon-Affiliate-Link ) von der mehrfach ausgezeichneten Regisseurin Kanchi Wichmann ("Break My Fall") folgt der 36-jährigen Dyke Ren (gespielt von Newcomerin Alana Lake), die gerade von London nach Berlin gezogen ist.

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Wir machen uns hübsch für euch und sind bald wieder zurück!

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Kazim's ex and boss at the tattoo studio, Heike has been single for years and her entire life revolves around her tattoo studio and her political commitments. When the studio is sold Heike embarks upon a mid-life crisis that includes dating the much-younger Yasmin.