German Director Puts Modern Spin on Old Hollywood Filmmaking with 'Jonathan'

Ruggedly handsome 23-year-old Jonathan (Jannis Niew�hner) had devoted himself to caring for his ailing father, Burghardt (Andr� M. Hennicke) and working on the family farm with his aunt, Burghardt's estranged sister.

Many mysteries surround Burghardt, including what really happened to Jonathan's mother and why he doesn't speak to his own sister. And no matter how close Jonathan tries to get to his father, there is an emotional chasm he can't seem to bridge.

The arrival of Ron (Thomas Sarbacher), Burghart's "friend" from decades ago, is key to shedding light on a lot of the secrets from his past, including the fact that Burghardt has struggled with his sexuality. As painful truths are revealed a father and son must come to terms with certain difficult realities.

Award-winning, German-based writer-director Piotr J. Lewandowski (born in Warsaw, Poland) has created a first feature rich with nuance and care about a subject that is significant since many LGBT folks in Europe and the U.S., have been living in a progressive bubble, not realizing that life outside of big cities are fraught with peril for many queer people who are forced to live lies.

"Jonathan" sometimes feels like a throwback to old Hollywood filmmaking but with a modern, gritty spin. The film does not shy away from showing the slow, tortuous toll cancer takes on a body and soul. And Lewandowski is rather fearless in his refreshingly honest representation of nudity and sex onscreen, which includes the hot young titular character frolicking naked as well as an explicit love scene between the two older men in a hospital.

Lewandowski spoke with EDGE about his "baby," which is being released on DVD/VOD and across digital platforms, by Wolfe Video, on February 7.

Based on his life?

EDGE: Where did the idea for 'Jonathan' come from and is it as personal as it feels?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: Well it is really personal but my father is not gay. Yet there are a lot of elements that are based on my life. For instance, when you hear Anka talking about death and what she experienced on the other side, this is something that my father really experienced. A couple of years ago he had a really bad accident. He never hugged me and was never warm with me. He was never the father I was hoping to have. After his experience -- he died -- and after 10 minutes the doctors managed to bring him back to life -- he changed. Completely. I don't know if I believe in the afterlife or not but something happened... Now I have the father I always wanted to have. It's so crazy, so unbelievable. Now he's old and he's trying to hug me, to ask me how I am doing. All the simple things that I never experienced are happening. This is one example of how I created this film.

EDGE: And the gay aspect...?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: I heard the story of the real Burghardt from a friend of mine. Her father turned out to be gay and he never said anything to anyone. He was keeping that a secret his entire life. Now he's in an institution because he completely broke down. He was not able to come out and live his life. She told me this story from her perspective and I was so touched. I cried when I heard it because I could not believe that something like that still happens.

Then I started to do research. I talked to many people, especially farmers in Poland and in Germany and over and over I heard the same stories. These people pretend to be someone else. They're not being honest because they're afraid -- still afraid -- and I thought this was such an important issue to talk about because it's just unbelievable that it's still happening, but it is. I heard lots of stories that made me feel so sad and angry.

A liberating film

EDGE: It's a strongly liberating film since it shows that these prejudices still exist today.

Piotr J. Lewandowski: Yes, unfortunately. I met one couple that managed to live their lives. It took them 18 years to be accepted and to be respected. They told me that the first years were really difficult because nobody wanted to buy their foods. I just couldn't believe that. It's so crazy. Now, everything's good. People got used to them. But I think it's a big problem and I felt I needed to talk about it and that's what I did.

EDGE: Piotr, this is your first feature...

Piotr J. Lewandowski: Yes. I did a lot of other projects but this is my baby, my first big baby...

EDGE: Was it difficult to finance?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: No. Because the script won a few awards and it helped me to make this film. I know it would have been much more difficult and would have taken much more time had I now won those awards.

Chemistry was there

EDGE: From script to screen how long was the journey?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: It took me something like three to five years, which is very quick for this kind of film. It took me a half a year to a year to think about it and do the (initial) research, to talk to people and get deeper into the subject.

EDGE: Much of the weight of the film is on the shoulders of the two remarkable lead actors: Jannis Niew�hner as the title character and Andr� M. Hennicke who plays Burghardt, his father. Can you discuss casting these extraordinary actors?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: The good news is that last week Jannis won an award as best upcoming star for 'Jonathan.' I was very happy. It happened in Munich. He was onstage laughing because he started (acting) when he was 10, so he's in the business 15 years and he was laughing and saying, 'I'm not a newcomer anymore but thank you.' I was really touched. It was very beautiful. I saw his performance as a child and he was absolutely amazing. I have not seen his big films that he did in the last two-three years. And then we met (while casting) and his (audition) was just outstanding.

Then I met Andr�. And as a private person he's the opposite of what you see onscreen. He's got a lot of energy. He's crazy, telling jokes. His girlfriend, who's like 23, buys clothes for him so he looks like he's a 30-year-old man. I love him. I think he's one of the best German actors. I saw some of his films from 20-30 years ago and I thought, wow, this man is amazing.

And then we put both actors together and it was just magical. The chemistry was there. Everything was very intense -- for me and for them.

Dark places

EDGE: And working with the actors...?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: I wanted to make it as comfortable for them as possible so, for instance, while we were shooting the film, no one was yelling. Normally onset people scream at each other because they are far way. But it was very quiet onset, which is very unusual for the actors (at first) but then they really appreciated it. They could really focus on the character, on the scene. It helped them so much.

We did a lot of rehearsals. We worked on the scenes, talked about the (characters). It was very beautiful.

Funny story: while we were shooting the film, Andr� was always telling jokes and dancing and performing between takes. It was very irritating and I didn't know why he was doing it. He did it because he had to balance the drama -- his performance was so intense that he had to do something crazy to balance that somehow... I love those guys. I love them so much. Working with them was a blessing. Really.

EDGE: Andr� did have to go to some dark places. The film pulls no punches in depicting the last days of Burghardt's life. Was that kind of gritty realism always the route you planned on taking?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: Yes. I lost someone so I know how it feels. I talked to people who lost family members, lovers, wives. We talked about cancer and all the things you see in the film. I've been to many festivals. After the screenings, people came to me and said, thank you for putting that in, for not being afraid of showing scenes like the sex scene in the hospital. They said this is what I experienced with my life, with my husband, with my lover. It was so intense. So amazing.

That scene in the hospital was the first scene that I wrote, that sex scene between Burghardt and Ron. And it was actually a little bit harder (more explicit) than the one you see but I had to reduce it because the producers, everybody was afraid that it was a little bit too much. But it was the first scene I ever wrote. And I loved it. I cried millions of times while writing the scene.

Beautiful and daring

EDGE: It's a beautiful and very daring scene.

Piotr J. Lewandowski: Yeah, I know. I love it, too.

EDGE: What have the reactions to the movie been in different countries?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: I did some short films and with 'Jonathan' it's so strange because, from everywhere, I receive love and appreciation. And people give me energy and force me to continue -- because I wanted to stop with filmmaking because it's so difficult and it's so exhausting and it's so hard and people were encouraging me to continue and not to give up. And everywhere it's the same. I've experienced such beautiful reactions. I've received so much love for this. In Poland, too! I was afraid to show it in Poland because they're so conservative. I was really afraid. And everybody loved it. People cried. And laughed. And cried and laughed. People came to me and hugged me. I had standing ovations in some countries... it's amazing that people (have been) reacting with so emotionally, intensely. I've never experienced that and its feels so wonderful. Really.

Slight Spoiler Alert

EDGE: What do you think happens to Jonathan?

Piotr J. Lewandowski: I know what has happened to him. He went to school. He wanted to be a designer. He wanted to study. Everything his friend Lasse is doing this is actually what Jonathan wanted to do. He wanted to be free. At the end he is free and he's able to fulfill his dreams.

"Jonathan" will be released February 7, 2017 in the U.S. and Canada via Wolfe Video on DVD & VOD and across all digital platforms including iTunes, Vimeo On Demand, and WolfeOnDemand.com and many major retailers visit the Wolfe video website for more details.