Asumang: „Yes. So, we're proud to have this here at the Berlinale at the Forum. We're talking about music and film and, Thomas, you have been the first director, who got such an intimate view into the egos of this collective of individuals. You were talking to I think 126 musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic?”

Thomas Grube: „Yeah... almost. I didn't manage to talk to everybody. The shooting days were over before, but a lot.”

Asumang: „Yes... and also Sir Simon Rattle. How did you approach all these people? How did the idea come up?”

Grube: „This film that was shown here and had its world premiere last night, TRIP TO ASIA, was built on a film before. This first film that you might have heard about, RHYTHM IS IT, which was quite a success, but on the other hand it was a success that nobody was really expecting before. It was something the partners, who teamed up in it, the producers – us – and the philharmonic, we said, ok, we're gonna do this experiment together, nobody could believe that this film could possibly have this success that it had. And this kind of brings you very close together, and it opened up the gates for me. There was a trust built with the first project that enabled me to get closer, deeper, more inside the system, the microcosm of an orchestra. I also had when we shot RHYTHM IS IT a lot of interviews with musicians, but in the end, in the editing with RHYTHM IS IT we decided we should stay with the kids. So there already had been this idea of how can I make a film about how the system of an orchestra with all these individuals, very strong artistic personalities, how can they survive out there as artists in a collective, when in the end, it really only works for each person, if the community works well.”

Asumang: „And Simon Rattle – how much was he involved in this idea of the film?”

Grube: „Simon Rattle is in the film, because he is the leader of this community, I see it as a society in a way and it works as a society. And a society needs in a way a leader, so that is him, because they chose him, but the film really is about the musicians and the orchestra. And the orchestra sees itself as the orchestra and then there is a conductor. The conductor is part of the family, but he just a part. So Simon Rattle is a part in the film.”

Asumang: „Maybe we go back to Uganda. So, how much strength did the music give your actors in the movie?”

Mugisha: „It gave them a lot of strength. I mean, these actors have never acted on a screen before. But for example, talking about the two guys that are very engraved in the local music scene: the place, where we shot, was where they grew up, where they were born. Almost all of them came from these parts of the country. As did their role models. So, in the film, they are actually literally reliving what some of them experienced when they grew up.”

Asumang: „And how did you work with them? I mean, you made a movie with no money actually, in Africa and the actors, were no actors, you had to teach them.”

Mugisha: „Well, the two of them were very engraved in the music scene, one of them was an aspiring musician in real life and the other one was a graduate in commerce. We actually had a one man workshop before we began shooting and what we did was, we tried to work a lot with method acting, because method acting is, you know, recalling some of your emotions, some of the things you lived through and you did. So, we used a lot of that. Actually this workshop was for the four of them. And then, the other people in the film were basically locals of that area. But those four people are reliving some of their past experiences. And music in that area is like their self esteem, I would say. It's what makes them human, really. Most of the people want to be a doctor or a lawyer, but for them it's like... they really want to sing and talk about things, talk about life. And then, obviously become famous. But that comes afterwards. But at least, they don't become violent or depressive about not having guardians, like they are supposed to. So, music is quite important.”

Asumang: „And what did you learn from your movie, from your shooting? How long did it take?”

Mugisha: „We began shooting in July 2006 and ended in December, because we basically used money from our own pockets and we were also shooting a lot of music videos. What hat happened was, we shot for two weeks in July and then we ran out of money. So we had to go back to shoot some music videos, raise the money, go back shooting and do the same thing until December, really. And what did I learn? I think everyone of us, who was part of this project, learned to kind of be patient and to listen, respect people, respect each other. Because the crew wasn´t even a crew. They didn't go to school to study whatever they were doing, some of them were actually my friends. I also had my sister in there, she was doing continuity. I mean, they were basically, you would say, not professionals, but I think they had a lot they picked out of. It was fascinating to get in that atmosphere. And my sister learned a lot, too. She met so many friends there. And she also kind of learned not to judge books by their cover. I think it was a positive experience.”

Asumang: „And what did you learn from your movie and from the musicans, Thomas?”

Grube: „A lot, it's not finished yet. The subtitle of the film is ‚The quest for harmony’, in german it's called ‚Einklang’, but it's meant in a double meaning. Not only musically but also mentally. And you know, last night, when the premiere was happening, it was really the first moment of real relief. I mean this was a documentary I shot it in 3-4 weeks and in the end I sat two years in the editing room with Martin Hoffmann, who edited the film beautifully. A very musical person by the way. And this process of editing had very much to do with myself, too, and it was not just sitting there and making a film about somebody. Some people say the film was also in a way like a little bit like a self-therapy with musicans, where the musicians kind of go into therapy, but on the other hand, there was somebody who kind of did the same with himself by listening to the lives of others, of musicians and I found out also a lot about myself. And this just opened something to me. Maybe to make it short now, what I learned on the other hand is that I am really up for a small documentary now, because it was very, very huge and we were 14 people, which is a lot for a documentary with four cameras at a time in the concerts and then travelling all the time through Asia. It would be really nice to do something really small again, where you don't have this immense financial pressure with a project like this. Some people said: ‚Why you're doing a second film with this orchestra?’ For me it seemed to be a chance, a unique chance, because they opened these doors, but on the other hand there was this challenge inside of myself, of course I need to have something I can work on, you know, to prove myself, to show that I can go another step somewhere else. So that took a lot of energy on the other hand, but I hope that the film is nice and that people like it.”

Audience: „Mr. Mugisha, how long is your movie? What did it cost? And what is the message?”

Mugisha: „It is 91 minutes and it was about 7.000 dollars, picked from saving and shooting and saving and shooting. And the message of the film is about stereotypes and not judging books by their cover and these sort of divizionz. There are always these imaginary lines between things, between people. And to be honest with you, it was meant for the Kampala audience. I'm glad they've seen so many things they could relate to and that they did think about some of these tiny things they see on daily bases and take for granted. In a way they learned to listen, I guess. And for the international audience, I guess the idea of DIVIZIONZ: Not judging books by their cover is what you could pick out.”

Asumang: „Are you going to any other festivals then later on?”

Mugisha: „Well, hopefully. But the thing is, it is really not about festivals in my opinion, to be honest with you. I think it is more about, you know, if I was going to another festival and had the opportunity to speak to people who probably don't even know where Uganda is or have this typical image of a country like Uganda with the army and all that, that would be really something for me, but just going and screening a film, I mean that can really happen without me.”

Asumang: „And your movie, Thomas, is it also going to another festival afterwards?”

Grube: „I hope so, too. It's just been showing last night and there is also another screening tonight, I think at 6 p.m. Yeah, I don't know, but I hope so very much. I mean festivals, are about meeting people and to stay in touch. But it's really nice after a period, where you go inside yourself and you don't see anybody to then you out and observe, what it does to people, how they react and that is something that you can do in a very intense way at festivals and that's why I like them.”

Asumang: „Thank you both and I hope you have a little more time to relax after all of your premieres and parties!”