Interview with the Director
How did you research the milieu of "Day and Night"?
I went to some escort service agencies, also to meet students who work there. We spent evenings with them, partly with Eva Testor, who wrote the story, and then I was there with the actresses. We even talked to clients, just to see how it felt. Personally, I also watched a lot of porn, because I was interested in the portrayal of sexuality, especially the question of when you look where and why.
In general, prostitution and escort services are associated with exploitation and violence. Why is this not portrayed in your film?
We wanted to show two girls who volunteered to do this. For fun and games. For self-affirmation. Possibly also out of a personal deficit. But not out of force and violence. Of course there's also sex work in the form of slavery. But I'd tell a completely different story. With completely different people. It's also about power, but on a completely different level.
If one wants to dare the comparison: How much exploitation and how much voluntariness is there?
It's rare that anything happens voluntarily. The sex market works like any other market. That means it has to be cheap, and for it to be cheap, I have to have a workforce that I pay very little to. So I look for those in need. A blow job costs ten to twenty euros today. Fucking is also available for ten to twenty euros. The big brothels, as they used to be, are less common. There is a luxury market, but it is a very narrow segment that few can afford. The average prostitution is cheap. Just like fast food, there is now fast sex. The big sex business is over. Glamour no longer exists. Today everything must be fast and cheap.
You are also known as a documentary filmmaker. Why did you choose the feature film genre?
It is relatively difficult to make a documentary film about prostitution in Europe. Because you will get very few opportunities to shoot. With the feature film there was the possibility to look very closely, to show certain moments that seem important to you. The plot of "Day and Night" is based on researched material. We collected a lot of material and then worked out the individual scenes with the actors and actresses.
During the preparatory work for "Day and Night", also in dealing with funding agencies, did you have the feeling of immersing yourself in a taboo subject?
Yes, of course. There were always the same questions: What should it look like? What do I show and what do I not show? Why do I show what? What is my personal attitude? Do I as a woman have a different attitude than the many men who work on this topic? It is possible that as a woman I have been asked much more precisely why I want to make this film. Of course this is a taboo subject.