Hi Zooliners,

In the beginning was the action. And Tom Elstner.

It’s October 21, 2021. It’s cold. A typically dreary Berlin autumn evening. But we’re sitting warm and dry. In the Berlin Freischwimmer, gathered around a round table, a large group, with a fire in the fireplace. We’ve invited representatives of the world’s religions: a Catholic, a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Hindu, and a Jew. In the middle of the table is the “evil box,” filled with hate loaded with clichés and stereotypes that you can easily find on social networks about religion. Not exactly an “easy conversation starter,” but we want to find out: How interesting is it to bring these people together at one table, confront them with what people online think, and see how deep it gets? The result: an evening we don’t want to end. This is the actual birth of Against All Gods. What Tom had long had as a fixed idea in his head (“Hey, Big Brother with religions, we have to do this!”) is – as we prove that evening – a brilliant idea.

“Religion always ends in conflict.”

It takes three years before we can prove this. (The producers among you will just shrug your shoulders here. Anyone trying to convince a broadcaster or streamer of a project in 2024 needs enormous endurance and frustration tolerance.) Often we are misunderstood. We fail at the last hurdle. Disillusionment sets in. What we believe in, an experiment with great entertainment value and an equally important message about how we want to live well in a pluralistic, diverse society, threatens to fail. And just when we’re about to give up, ZDF knocks on our door. On the landline.

The result: a six-episode season, produced for the ZDF 37° Leben series, recorded in June 2024 for broadcast in September of the same year. For one week, we bring together six protagonists – representatives of the world’s religions and one atheist – under one roof, in a Berlin shared apartment, to find out what separates and unites them, and to answer the question of whether interfaith dialogue is possible. The idea: If these people can manage to live in peace with each other in such close quarters and even in extreme situations, then we must be able to endure differences everywhere, in all their facets.

Six friends you shall be.

The biggest challenge: finding our protagonists and crafting a show concept that fits them. In our seemingly endless folder structure, there is one among many documents that lists exactly 212 religious institutions, all of which we (let’s be honest: Aurelia) contact. Then there are countless profiles on social networks that we study closely. And we’re not too old school to listen around in Berlin’s queer bar scene and distribute flyers (hey, at least there’s beer). In the end, with Omar, Gloria, Dharmasara, Josi, Sagitha, and Lars (who, due to a cancellation, comes to us like a gift from heaven just six days before production!), we find exactly what we wanted: a perfect match. But they don’t know that themselves at this point.

“We have all gods on our side.”

Filming takes place in the most beautiful Berlin shared apartment loft we could imagine, in the tranquil district of Pankow, with a crew that is truly outstanding, led by our budding Hollywood star Johannes Obermaier on camera and with lots of fempower. From the moment our protagonists move in, we experience a small fireworks display on the director’s monitors. At the check-in on the first day, the protagonists recognize the deep divides that exist between them. Do they claim that their faith is the only true one? How do they feel about the queer community? Do they pity people who don’t believe? In the following days, we surprise the protagonists with guests: Sabine Rückert comes to discuss the deadly sin of murder based on one of her most spectacular true crime cases; Maria Popov talks about love, sex, and partnership; and Jürgen Trittin brings a particularly explosive topic to the table – religion as a supposed war instigator and the Middle East conflict. A tour of Berlin reveals experiences of exclusion that our protagonists have faced due to their faith and identity. A visit to the cemetery sheds light on the protagonists’ beliefs when it comes to the “afterlife.” Omar’s wife Julia visits the shared apartment because we believe: Muslim women are underrepresented in media coverage – and we want to hear them! On Friday evening, the protagonists celebrate Shabbat together – and Josi declares it without hesitation as her favorite religious holiday. Asked to bring dishes from their different worlds to the table, one evening features mainly one thing: a lot of potatoes. During a round of “Never Have I Ever,” the protagonists open up to each other. In the garden of Dharmasara’s parents, they cheer on the German national team in the second group stage match (thanks, Andrea and Thomas!). And because we are convinced that we have all the divine forces on our side, we also dare to let them fall during a tandem jump from 4,000 meters. There are many big and small moments that make us exchange meaningful glances in the director’s room during the week together. Moments that make us laugh – and cry. And when the protagonists pack their bags and leave the shared apartment after six days, we can hardly stand on our tired legs, but we really want this to last forever.

From Berlin with Love.

We have never pulled so many overtime hours in our lives, but that doesn’t matter before and during production or in the long nights of post-production because: We are completely convinced that we have realized our vision with Against All Gods and created something worthy of an award. This would not have been possible without the gift our protagonists gave us. They understood us and our project. They dared to participate. They approached each other openly, authentically, and honestly. They gave us their trust. And above all: They triggered emotions in us that we very much hope viewers will also feel.

Against All Gods would also not have been possible without an outstanding crew, which we admittedly tortured with too much pizza, but which always stuck together and with whom we could feel one thousand percent comfortable and safe. We must especially highlight Dennis Gross, our sound engineer, because there can’t be another one like him. And our production assistant Bastian Simon-Weidner, because there is no man on this planet who can anticipate your wishes (ok, actually we want to say: Lars’ wishes) like he does.

So, now it’s time to send Against All Gods out into the (German-speaking) world – in the hope that people of all stripes will see themselves in our format, understand what we want to achieve with it, and simply feel it.

You are Dharmasara, you are Gloria, you are Lars, Omar, Sagitha, and Josi. Peace be with you!

And: Don’t forget to tune in, right here.

Greetings on top, from Zoo Kid On The Blog