"Mad Heidi" Director Johannes Hartmann & Sandro Klopstein Surprisingly didn't get angry (laughs) [Director's Interview Vol.335]

Heidi, a young man living in the Swiss Alps ruled by a dictatorial state, enjoys bedtime with her boyfriend Peter, while Peter sells forbidden cheese in the dark. However, Peter is captured by the state and executed in front of Heidi. Furthermore, Heidi's grandfather is also killed, and she becomes a demon of revenge and confronts the dictator... Just hearing the synopsis of ``Mad Heidi'' gives me a bad feeling, but on the inside it is a work full of love for genre movies.

This work is over-the-top and over-the-top, and it's incredibly entertaining as it manages to shake things off. Directors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopstein made no compromises in the content. From their talk, I could feel the importance of sticking to what you love.

“Mad Heidi” synopsis

The greedy Mairi, who is the sole president of a cheese manufacturing company and also the president of Switzerland, enacts a law banning all cheeses other than those made by her own company. He took control of all of Switzerland and ruled as a terrifying dictator. 20 years The Day After. Heidi was around the age when she lived in the Alps, but her lover Peter sold forbidden goat cheese in the dark and was executed in front of her as a demonstration. Furthermore, Mairi's only relative, an old man, was surrounded by Mairi's men and died in an explosion. After losing her beloved Peter and her family, Heidi transforms into a bloody warrior. Will Heidi, who has become a demon of revenge, be able to sacrifice the blood of the evil dictator and liberate her home country?

Index

• You can shoot genre movies in Switzerland too!
• Surprisingly, I didn't get angry (lol)
• I like "Killer 1"

You can shoot genre movies in Switzerland too!

Q: It's hard to imagine combining an exploitation film with " Heidi, Girl of the Alps, " but how did you come up with the idea?

Johannes: Up until now, there had been no genre films in Switzerland, so I really wanted to make one. I was always told, ``If you want to make a genre film, you have to go to Hollywood,'' but I wanted to prove that ``No, you can do it in Switzerland!'' So I thought of a genre film that could only be made in Switzerland, and started writing a script that had Swiss elements sprinkled in. Initially, Heidi was a supporting role, but the idea gradually changed to making her the main character. Having a female hero as the main character is cool, and Heidi is already an established brand, so there's no reason not to use that. Also, since there was a connection with Japan through anime, various developments were made, such as casting a Japanese person to play the role of Clara.

Q: Were you conscious of global expansion from the beginning?

Sandro: Yes. Switzerland is a small country and there were no genre films until now, so we made this film for genre film lovers around the world, and many people in Switzerland saw it as well. People who had never seen a genre movie before saw this film and supported it.

Johannes: Initially, we were only planning to distribute it on our website, but the oldest distribution company in Switzerland approached us. Moreover, this company was the one that distributed the live-action version of Heidi in the 1950s. It was decided that the film would be released in theaters in Switzerland, which we had not expected, and many people in Japan were able to see it.

“Mad Heidi” (C) SWISSPLOITATION FILMS/MADHEIDI.COM

Surprisingly, I didn't get angry (lol)