Swiss director Michael Steiner: «Netflix wants the very thing Swiss films don’t usually do»

Luca Fontana

12.10.2023

Translation: Katherine Martin

Switzerland has just been given its first ever Netflix film: Early Birds. Set in the midst of Zurich’s Langstrasse, the neo-noir thriller is only showing in cinemas for the time being. Just before it hit theatres, I sat down with high-flying Swiss director Michael Steiner for a chat.

This interview was recorded on 27 September. Our conversation took place in Swiss German, so the video above doesn’t have English subtitles. You can, however, read the full interview in English here.

He’s the only director with two movies in the list of top 10 most successful Swiss films by box office admissions (website in German). And if you were to stretch it to the top 11, you’d even see his name mentioned a third time: Michael Steiner.

The Hergiswil-born director first rose to fame in 2005 with Rascals on the Road («Mein Name ist Eugen») (video in Swiss German). Swissair thriller Grounding came out a year later, filling Swiss movie theatres yet again (video in Swiss German). And in 2018, The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch was so good that the Federal Office of Culture submitted the comedy to the Oscars as Switzerland’s official entry. Although it failed to clinch the nomination, Netflix bought the movie rights, securing Steiner’s international breakthrough.

Today, he’s got another potential box office hit lined up: Early Birds (video in Swiss German). Not only is it the 54-year-old’s first neo-noir thriller, it’s also the first Swiss feature film to be co-produced by Netflix. Right on time for its theatrical release on 12 October, I met up with Michael Steiner for a chat. Our conversation covered why streaming is an opportunity for the Swiss film industry, unusual approaches Steiner had to take specially for Netflix, and what it was like to discover the newcomer of the year.

Early Birds won’t be the first Swiss film to appear on Netflix. However, it is the first Swiss film to be produced by Netflix. How did that come about? Did you just get an e-mail from Netflix one day?
Michael Steiner: (laughs) No, no. That’s not how it works. The film was already in the pipeline at Netflix when the request for a director came in from hugofilm (editor’s note: besides Netflix, hugofilm is one of the movie’s three co-producers). The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch was already on Netflix and had really good viewing numbers, so I was asked if I wanted to direct Early Birds. Of course, I said yes right away.

Ah yes, The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch. That’s probably been your most internationally successful film, right?
In terms of streaming, yes. Mind you, that wasn’t a thing when my earlier films were released.

Has streaming changed your approach to filmmaking at all? You knew from the word go that having Netflix as a co-producer would boost Early Birds onto an international stage. But this wasn’t the case when you were filming The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch.
Sure, it does have quite an influence on things when you’re directing a film for Netflix. Certainly since it’s the first Swiss Netflix film. My crew and I put a lot of thought into how we could set ourselves apart from the international competition, but I also had really good discussions with Netflix. In script meetings, for example, I very quickly became aware of how goal-oriented they are. Not only that, but they have very clear ideas about what they want from a Netflix film.

Like what?
They want movies that draw the audience into the action quickly. You don’t get half an hour for exposition or character introduction. Basically, Netflix wanted the very thing Swiss films don’t usually do.

Some people say that streaming is a threat to cinema. But seeing as you’ve just collaborated with Netflix, I’m guessing you have a different opinion on that?
Yes. A radically different opinion, in fact! When it comes to cinema now, you can hardly predict what will work and what won’t. On top of that, the box office market has taken a nosedive since the pandemic. That doesn’t make life any easier for me as someone plugging commercial films in Switzerland (laughs).

From that perspective, the streaming business could also be an opportunity for the Swiss film industry. Similar to the way the Korean film industry, which was totally unknown until a few years ago, now has a huge platform because of Netflix.
Yes, and that’s exactly what I like about Netflix. We’re watching more and more Italian, Spanish and French series, even with subtitles. Series from all over the world. You mentioned South Korea – Squid Game, for instance, was an outstanding, very well-conceived series. As a result of these new viewing habits, cinema is becoming much more international too.

Let’s move on to your new film. Early Birds is about two young women who want to break free of life’s chains. At the beginning, Anika, one of the two main characters, finds a message in a fortune cookie: «The early bird catches the worm». I take it the title of the film is a reference to that?
I think it’s more of an ironic game that our writer Thomas Ritter wanted to play. The worm that Anika catches is a gym bag full of coke and cash. And she eats that cookie during a wild, drug-fuelled night out on Langstrasse.

So not the kind of cookie that brings good fortune, then.
Ah well, it depends how you look at it. But I don’t want to give you any spoilers.

There’s something else we really need to talk about: Silvana Synovia. What a performance for a newcomer! She plays Carla, the second lead role. Can you tell me where you found her and how you were able to tease that performance out of her?
That’s the magic of movies! Casting Silvana took me a pretty long time. She came to several auditions – three or four. And each time I thought to myself: that’s her. That’s the character she’s supposed to play.

She was fresh out of acting school at that point.
And she had no experience of working on a large production like this one. That kind of work requires a lot of preparation. When you’re play a leading role, you don’t usually do the scenes in chronological order. The penultimate scene of the movie might be scheduled for the first day of shooting, while the third scene could be slated for the second day of filming. So as an actor, you always have to know exactly where your character is emotionally, at every point in the story. That’s a an enormous challenge, especially for such a young, inexperienced actor.

But?
But Silvana handled all of that brilliantly. She got better and better every day. And if we’d filmed for another 30 days, she would’ve improved considerably more. She really is a force of nature. For me, the greatest joy of filmmaking is getting to discover and work with talent like her. I’m really proud of the way Silvana drives the film and gives her character such power. Hats off to her!

At the same time, it must’ve been helpful to be able to count on a Hollywood veteran like Anatole Taubman, who played the role of detective in the film?
Absolutely. Anatole is not only an incredibly good actor, but one of the last remaining method actors out there. He stays in character, even during breaks on set. Silvana, on the other hand, doesn’t do that. So, in order to dive into the scene at the right moment, I always had to differentiate my stage directions based on who I was talking to.

I’ll be honest, I thought you’d already made loads of films with Anatole Taubman. Then, when I was doing my research, I found out this was actually your first film with him.
Anatole and I are also good friends. Though, you’re right, we’ve never worked together. It made shooting the film all the more enjoyable. I think we could feel that sense of trust on set from the beginning. That’s what working with actors is all about – trust. The more of it there is, the better the collaboration.

What did you and Anatole have the most back and forth about?
We talked a lot about using old Zurich slang. Anatole and I are from the same generation. We kinda thought it’d suit his character, Detective Roland, if he used language in a way that was typical twenty years ago. Then we combined it with his gravitas as an actor.

You can tell. To wrap up, if there was one message you wanted me to take away from the film, what would it be?
Don’t trust men! (Laughs)

Early Birds is Michael Steiner’s latest feature film and will be shown exclusively in Swiss cinemas from 12 October. It’ll air on Netflix and oneplus in spring 2024.

The plot: after a wild night out comes to a bloody end, Anika (Nilam Farooq) suddenly finds herself with a massive stash of cash and coke. Teaming up with Caro (Silvana Synovia), the two face off against the dealers and cops hot on their trail. They then flee through Switzerland, ready to fight for their innermost desires – with a bullet to the head if necessary.

[[small: Header image: Ascot Elite Entertainment

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

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