Germany’s
Race to Vaccinate
The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 represents a challenge of unprecedented proportions for the whole of society and, at the same time, our only way out of the pandemic. Sooner or later, the virus will reach everyone who has not been immunized by vaccination, according to the assessment of leading experts. Over a period of nine months, the documentary film Germany’s Race to Vaccinate tells the story of this vaccination campaign: from the initial debate surrounding which population groups should be vaccinated first, up until the vaccination of the general population in Germany after the end of prioritization in June 2021.
Beyond daily news snippets, Grimme Award winners Dominik Wessely and Antje Boehmert chronicle the vaccination campaign’s central processes and settings in close and vivid everyday observations, portraying men and women who – in very different ways – drive forward the vaccination campaign every day. They are all frontline workers on our journey out of the pandemic.
The filmmakers accompany, among others, the staff of the vaccination centres in Duisburg and Stendal and a family doctor in Rhineland-Palatinate. They take an exclusive look at the work of Germany’s Standing Commission on Vaccination (STIKO) and consult scientists involved in the struggle to increase vaccination acceptance: Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten and Prof. Dr. Cornelia Betsch. Through the life and work of a photographer in Pforzheim, a crematorium worker in Plauen and a paramedic from the Lower Rhine, the hardships of lockdown and the ethical questions surrounding vaccination are made visible.
The film offers a far-reaching look behind the scenes at those tackling the mammoth task of the nationwide vaccination campaign in Germany. In doing so, Germany’s Race to Vaccinate presents a documentary panorama of our world in a state of emergency, something often articulated merely in the form of news headlines or statistics.
Written & Directed by: Dominik Wessely, Antje Boehmert ● Directors of Photography: Knut Schmitz (bvk),Till Vielrose (bvk) ● Editor: Marcel Ozan Riedel (bfs) ● Scientific Consultant: Kai Kupferschmidt ● Narrated by: Nina Petri ● Additional Camera: Ralf Klingelhöfer, Michael Reichert ● Sound: Jule Buerjes, Sven Klöpper, Filipp Forberg, Tobias Müller ● Drone: Till Vielrose, Sven Klöpper, Michael Reichert, Ralf Klingelhöfer ● Music: Tim Stanzel ● Edit Assistant: Robert Elschner ● Mix: Stanislaw Milkowski ● Grading: Knut Schmitz ● Additional Editing: Ronald Rist, Annette Muff (bfs)
Prodution Coordinator: Arndt Fehl ● Assistant Producer: Mareike Müller ● Post-Production Coordinator: Izzy Hughes-Morgan ● Associate Producer: Nele Huff ● Line Producer: Ko Miklik ● Executive Producer: Antje Boehmert
Commissioning Editor: Simone Reuter (swr), Bernd Seidl (swr), Thomas Beyer (mdr), Rolf Bergmann (rbb)
A production by DOCDAYS Productions
for SWR, MDR & RBB for DAS ERSTE
© 2021
This creates a kind of mosaic of the vaccination effort: different people, pulling together. … and with a close-up perspective focused on emotions that promises to shed new light on the eventful last six months.
PRISMA
Even though an end to the pandemic is unfortunately not yet in sight, the ARD 90-minute documentary “Das Impfdrama” … has drawn a kind of interim conclusion. From the most diverse perspectives – from Drosten to the 90-year-old. From the ethics council to the mortician. Impressive.
MEEDIA
A large, emotional, but unagitated panorama of the most exciting time in the recent past is shown.
WAZ
Written & Directed by: Dominik Wessely, Antje Boehmert
DoP: Knut Schmitz (bvk), Till Vielrose (bvk)
Editor: Marcel Ozan Riedel (bfs)
Scientific Consultant: Kai Kupferschmidt
Narrated by: Nina Petri
Sound: Jule Buerjes, Sven Klöpper
Music: Tim Stanzel
Production Coordinator: Arndt Fehl
Assistant Producer: Mareike Müller
Postproduction Coordinator: Izzy Hughes-Morgan
Associate Producer: Nele Huff
Line Producer: Ko Miklik
Executive Producer: Antje Boehmert
Commissioning Editor: Simone Reuter (swr), Bernd Seidl (swr), Thomas Beyer (mdr), Rolf Bergmann (rbb)
A production by DOCDAYS Productions
for SWR, MDR & RBB for DAS ERSTE
© 2021
The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 represents a challenge of unprecedented proportions for the whole of society and, at the same time, our only way out of the pandemic. Sooner or later, the virus will reach everyone who has not been immunized by vaccination, according to the assessment of leading experts. Over a period of nine months, the documentary film Germany’s Race to Vaccinate tells the story of this vaccination campaign: from the initial debate surrounding which population groups should be vaccinated first, up until the vaccination of the general population in Germany after the end of prioritization in June 2021.
Beyond daily news snippets, Grimme Award winners Dominik Wessely and Antje Boehmert chronicle the vaccination campaign’s central processes and settings in close and vivid everyday observations, portraying men and women who – in very different ways – drive forward the vaccination campaign every day. They are all frontline workers on our journey out of the pandemic.
The filmmakers accompany, among others, the staff of the vaccination centres in Duisburg and Stendal and a family doctor in Rhineland-Palatinate. They take an exclusive look at the work of Germany’s Standing Commission on Vaccination (STIKO) and consult scientists involved in the struggle to increase vaccination acceptance: Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten and Prof. Dr. Cornelia Betsch. Through the life and work of a photographer in Pforzheim, a crematorium worker in Plauen and a paramedic from the Lower Rhine, the hardships of lockdown and the ethical questions surrounding vaccination are made visible.
The film offers a far-reaching look behind the scenes at those tackling the mammoth task of the nationwide vaccination campaign in Germany. In doing so, Germany’s Race to Vaccinate presents a documentary panorama of our world in a state of emergency, something often articulated merely in the form of news headlines or statistics.
Written & Directed by: Dominik Wessely, Antje Boehmert
DoP: Knut Schmitz (bvk), Till Vielrose (bvk)
Editor: Marcel Ozan Riedel (bfs)
Scientific Consultant: Kai Kupferschmidt
Narrated by: Nina Petri
Sound: Jule Buerjes, Sven Klöpper
Music: Tim Stanzel
Production Coordinator: Arndt Fehl
Assistant Producer: Mareike Müller
Postproduction Coordinator: Izzy Hughes-Morgan
Associate Producer: Nele Huff
Line Producer: Ko Miklik
Executive Producer: Antje Boehmert
Commissioning Editor: Simone Reuter (swr), Bernd Seidl (swr), Thomas Beyer (mdr), Rolf Bergmann (rbb)
A production by DOCDAYS Productions
for SWR, MDR & RBB for DAS ERSTE
© 2021