Tango Production and Fox Devil Films Create a Bang with Epic Film for Evonik
We caught up with Julia Bidakowska-Andren from Tango Production about their latest
venture “Evonik” with Fox Devil Films.
LBB> This is a huge project for Evonik and Tango Production. How did you find
the process?
JA> Working on a project of this scale, especially after the quiet months after the
pandemic, was such a blast! It was a huge challenge but ultimately a positive one –
most of the time at least!
LBB> Tell us more about the shoot.
JA> The lengthy pre-production process was followed by an intense 7-day shoot.
Everyone who knows the director Michael Fueter knows just how hardworking and
detailed he is. We explored many locations, casting sessions, costume proposals and
props, set designs, logistical options – you name it, we did it! But as you can see the
effects are very impressive! We were lucky to get the absolute best team on board for
our client from the set department, casting directors, location manager, costume stylists,
ADs, camera team, grip team, stunt team, sfx team, make up team and not to forget,
our hard working production team.
We cast 123 local talent with hundreds taking part in the process. We got costumes for
Viking, Roman, Victorian and Baroque time periods sourced in Poland, Czech Republic,
Germany and the UK.
In total, it took 6 months to prep the shoot due to Covid. We eventually got to shoot in
May. A god send really, imagine shooting this in January!
LBB> What do you think was the biggest challenge of the job?
JA> Meeting the Director’s expectations with a limited budget and then combining all the
locations and set ups into 7 days. It was also tricky collecting some of the costumes
from outside Poland without being quarantined. Trying to keep the crew intact and
healthy during the pre-production and shoot while covid was still raging - a global
problem in our industry. We managed – not a single case of Covid during all that time.
We tested everyone every single day (850 Covid tests to be precise!)
We scouted around 100 locations before settling on the final 25 and the studio where
we constructed the Gladiator set filled the studio to the brim! The DOP could hardly fit
his lamps!
LBB> Was everyone happy with the finished film?
JA> The shoot resulted in a very happy client – both the Evonik client but mostly the
production house that hired us – Fox Devil Films and of course a very happy Director.
We felt an enormous sense of pride and satisfaction of what we accomplished and of
course a beautiful piece to put on the reel. Would I produce it again? It’s been almost 1
year now since we wrapped, so yes, I would.