Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen (Germany. A Summer's Tale) is a 2006 documentary film written, filmed and directed by Sönke Wortmann. The film records the Germany national football team's World Cup 2006 journey, from their boot camp in Sardinia to the match for third place with Portugal. The title refers ironically to Heinrich Heine's poem Germany. A Winter's Tale. In contrast to Heine's melancholic view on Germany, Ein Sommermärchen illustrates the sanguine and optimistic atmosphere during the 2006 World Cup.
The film premiered in October 2006, German Unity Day. By the end November 2006, around four million people had seen the film in German cinemas, making it the most commercially successful German documentary film. The film was shown on 6 December 2006 on German public TV channel ARD, and was viewed by more than 10 million people. The DVD was released on 8 February 2007. Parts of the proceeds of the film's merchandising are earmarked for SOS Children's Villages.
Contents
Technical sheet
Original title : Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen
Directed by: Sönke Wortmann
Written by: Sönke Wortmann
Cinematography: Sönke Wortmann and Frank Griebe
Sound: Henry Mayr
Editing: Melania Singer, Christian von Lüpke
Music: Marcel Barsotti
Production:
Susan Feikes, Matthias Kremin (executive production)
Tom Spieß (production)
Heinrich Hadding (creative production)
Production companies: Little Shark Entertainment, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Distributor (theatrical): Kinowelt
Country of origin: Germany
Original language: German
Format: Color — 35 mm — 1.85:1 — Dolby Digital sound
Genre: Sports documentary
Release dates:
Germany: 3 October 2006 in theaters
Cast
National team coaching staff
Jürgen Klinsmann
Joachim Löw
Andreas Köpke
Oliver Bierhoff
Adolf Katzenmeier (physiotherapist)
Oliver Schmidtlein (physiotherapist)
Players
Jens Lehmann
Marcell Jansen
Arne Friedrich
Robert Huth
Sebastian Kehl
Jens Nowotny
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Torsten Frings
Mike Hanke
Oliver Neuville
Miroslav Klose
Oliver Kahn
Michael Ballack
Gerald Asamoah
Thomas Hitzlsperger
Philipp Lahm
Per Mertesacker
Tim Borowski
Bernd Schneider
Lukas Podolski
Christoph Metzelder
David Odonkor
Timo Hildebrand
Others
Angela Merkel
Horst Köhler
Franz Beckenbauer
Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder
Harald Stenger