German comedy duo to showcase film series at The Ross

Comedy duos have been a staple of film for decades, from Abbott and Costello to Jay and Silent Bob. On Friday, German filmmakers and actors Markus Mischkowski and Kai Maria Steinkühler will bring their unique blend of deadpan humor and social commentary to the Ross, along with a chance for audience interaction and questions. Their "Westend" film series consists of five short films and one feature-length, following the pair through adventures in boredom, beer and the job market of their hometown of Cologne, Germany.

The Cologne Group, as they're known, met in the mid 1990s, in a largely underground film community with little-to-no budget.

"We were some friends who wanted to make films," said Mischkowski, who plays the character Mike in the "Westend" films. "We ran a film club where we showed films that we liked in a cultural center. So we were around people that were very enthusiastic about cinema and in filmmaking, who wanted to make films together. In making the first shorts in the ‘90s, we realized that it was everyone helping each other with their projects. It was completely no-budget."

The film market is quite different in Germany than the United States, relying on television and other sources of funding.

"In America, cinema and television are, generally speaking, kept apart," said Marco Abel, associate professor of English and film studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "But in Germany, the film industry is so small, that in order to survive, it needs to have subsidies. And the subsidies come from the government, from tax payer money, and from television. So if you were like Martin Scorsese in Germany, you would be working for NBC most of the time, instead of making ‘real cinema.'"

For filmmakers, the television format is very restricting, requiring writers to work in repetition and cliffhangers to keep the audience interested through commercials.

"You're very, very framed," Steinkühler said. "You're forced to work in a certain way."

Mischkowski and Steinkühler decided early on to stay away from these hindrances and keep a specific and independent artistic vision.

"TV producers wanted Mike and Alfred to have a backstory," said Mischkowski. "A family, a psychological and sociological background. To explain why they're jobless, why they're drinking beer. They wanted Mike and Alfred to become strengthened by conflict, like what you'd read in a handbook for screenwriting. We wanted the world to change, and the protagonists have to stay the same."

Each film starts and ends with Mike and Alfred jobless, but contain a wealth of social commentary, often showing up as business ventures that invariably go wrong. Rasto, played by Jens Classen, is a recurring character modeling the capitalistic go-getter who usually finds himself over his head.

cameronmount@dailynebraskan.com