Producer

Sonja Kulkarni

Sonja Kulkarni, born 1981 in Wels, Austria, studied film production as well as image technology and camera at the Vienna Film Academy after her intermediate diploma in sociology. Her mid-length graduation film "Das große Glück sozusagen" (2007/2008) was shown at the Hof International Film Festival.

Sonja Kulkarni founded her production company Evolution Film for documentary formats in 2009, based in Munich. As a producer, she worked on the cinema documentary "Glückformeln" for devifilm as well as for fechnerMEDIA and fischerappelt in Stuttgart. For her treatment "Im Spiegel der Pferde" she won 1st prize in the BR Telepool treatment competition in 2011. The feature-length documentary "Match Me!" was realised from 2012 to 2014 as co-author and producer in co-production with BR and arte.

Commentary

»"Match Me!" was shot by a crew of four over a year and a half in seven countries across Europe and in four seasons. From the Antarctic feeling in Finland to a joint 24-hour bus ride from Vienna to Vilnius in the "Polski Bus", we also experienced many adventures behind the camera.

From a production point of view, this project was a daring experiment with an uncertain outcome; and always a borderline experience: will Sarah's "match" allow us to accompany his intimate young married life? Will the financiers remain loyal to us, even if the story suddenly takes a completely unexpected turn in a completely different direction? Can we really keep the protagonists on board for a year and a half?

We all helped to develop with the film, had moments of fear of failure and were always confronted with our own relationship behaviour. As a producer and co-author, I hope that this film will contribute to an open and new, somewhat ethnological, view on the topic of partner choice in our society and be inspired by the courageous paths of our protagonists.«

Sonja Kulkarni