“In the shadow of the many crises that are currently shaking us, a global battle is taking place that threatens humanity almost more than anything else. The fight for our food…” – this is how the exciting thriller mini-series, shot in atmospheric images, begins ” The Seed – Deadly Power”. The first four episodes will be broadcast on Das Erste on December 9th from 8:15 p.m., the last two on December 10th from 9:45 p.m. The setting is the “Global Seed Vault” on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, the so-called “backup hard drive” of global nutrition.
In the series, Munich police officer Max Grosz (Heino Ferch, 60) sets out on his own to search for his missing nephew Victor Vegener (Jonathan Berlin, 29). The trail leads him from Norway to Spitsbergen, where Victor had researched the area around the Svalbard seed vault. Max offends his local colleagues, but ultimately finds support in policewoman Thea Koren (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, 43). The further search takes the two police officers to Brussels, where they track down the agricultural group BSG. He wants to take over his competitor, but has to fear the veto of the EU competition watchdog Jule Kronberg (Friederike Becht, 37). During the investigation, Max and Thea are stalked by a mysterious killer without noticing it.
In an interview with spot on news, actress Friederike Becht (“Käthe Kruse”, “Parfum”) explains what attracted her to the series, which is worth seeing. She also talked about how she and her artist husband organize their family and professional life together.
Friederike Becht: There were a lot of things. The most important thing for me is the role and what it has to offer. I’ve never played a politician before – here it’s actually an idealistic politician, which I think we’d all like to have. But I was also interested in the topic itself: What happens when large corporations discover and research something that may be good for the general public, but not for profit? Capitalism doesn’t work if you promote things that could harm it. What would happen if, for example, such a high-yield seed were common property? This is a relevant topic and it’s exciting to work your way into it.
Becht: That’s right, it’s intended to prevent a monopoly from a large seed company. This is of course a huge task. I don’t know if I could take it. But for me as an actress, it’s very interesting to play roles or get to know characters who have completely different traits or work in jobs that I didn’t pursue. It’s exciting when everything is further away from you. The attitude of this role actually really appealed to me.
Becht: We shot in Munich, Spitsbergen and Prague. Although my scenes take place in Brussels, they were shot in the Czech capital. I already knew Prague, but I actually got to know this beautiful city in a completely different way.
Becht: You can imagine it with all the trimmings, lots of lights, an Advent wreath. We do crafts with the children and visit grandma and grandpa. The last gifts are being scraped together – many of them probably at the last minute. In general, it’s all about family for us. For me, the run-up to Christmas and the holidays themselves are family time.
Becht: That’s okay, it’s just the normal madness that probably everyone else has too, because everyday life is just madness. When I’m working and am further away, with film and theater I usually know this a while in advance and can start planning in good time. However, I can only relax once the babysitting plan is in place.
Becht: We are lucky that our grandparents live nearby. And we have two babysitters who have known my children for ages and who are actually part of the family. One is my girlfriend, the other is a permanent babysitter. And that’s how we manage it. We, my husband and I, just have to coordinate well. That means a lot of organization, communication and preparedness, but then it works.
