Participants of “Solon” above the rooftops of Bochum: Director Samir Saad (in the blue T-shirt) also filmed on the Exzenter high-rise. © Graebe Media
Never before has so much of Bochum been shown in a movie as in “Solon”. Filming has now finished. We reveal which filming locations were used.
Bochum – Whether “The Miracle of Bern” or “The Great Bellheim” – Bochum has often been the setting for major film productions. In the thriller “Solon” (premiere in spring 2025), however, more of the city will be shown than ever before. In addition, almost everyone involved has a connection to Bochum.
Bochum is the setting for a whole movie for the first time – these were the filming locations
One example is director Samir Saad, managing director of the Bochum-based film production company “Kobayashi Film” since 2006, who, like everyone else involved in front of and behind the camera, is “closely connected to Bochum”. Saad once studied film in Bochum. His daughter was also born here.
“Solon” was filmed entirely in Bochum. This is said to have never happened before. Some filming locations are obvious, others seem more surprising. These were the Bochum filming locations for “Solon”:
- The “Exzenter-Haus” (Bochum’s tallest building at 89 metres)
- Branch of “Jan Kath” (world-famous carpet designer) in Friederikastraße
- Harpener Teiche (accumulation of mine water, water shows turquoise blue color)
- Main branch of the Sparkasse in the city center (Dr.-Ruer-Platz)
- Livingroom (restaurant in the city centre on Luisenstraße)
- Ruhr (Bochum waterworks in Stiepel)
- Baltz fashion house (city center)
- Moritz Fiege’s brewery in the city centre (old warehouses, former DB site)
- Rotunda (Event Hall at the Bermuda Triangle)
- Technical operations at the Upper Steel Industry (storage and parking area for work equipment, materials and vehicles of the city of Bochum)
- Ruhr University (Audimax)
- Hellweg-Quader (Hellweg 24)
- Sewerage system of the city of Bochum
- Tent Festival Ruhr
The Harpener Teiche are a popular photo subject in Bochum and also a filming location for the movie “Solon”. © Hans Blossey/Imago
Movie “Solon” was shot entirely in Bochum: Director gives three reasons
According to director Saad, there are three reasons why “Solon” was filmed in Bochum: Firstly, he wanted to show the city’s potential. “Bochum is the absolute winner of structural change and has also left cities like Essen and Dortmund behind. I don’t think many people realize that,” says Saad in an interview with “Bochum Tourism”.
In addition, Saad wanted to make a project with the Bochum film that he thought was “perfect”. His father gave him the idea when he went on a trip to the US with him to say goodbye to friends and relatives. The third reason for choosing Bochum as a filming location: the previously undiscovered talent of many Bochum actors.
Livingroom managing director works on idea for Bochum cinema film
One day, together with Lukas Rüger from the “Livingroom” restaurant, the idea to tackle this project came up. For the production, Saad brought many Bochum students onto the team – out of disappointment. “I studied film in Bochum myself, it was a really good and recognized course. At the time, I thought it was a real shame that the course had so little practical relevance.”
Scenes from “Solon” were also filmed on the Exzenter high-rise in Bochum’s city center. © Daniele Giustolisi/RUHR24
And what is “Solon” about? The film’s producers have not yet gone into detail. The idea for the story is already 20 years old. “Solon” tells a confusing story that begins in a café. There, the fates of the main characters Christopha (Alexia von Wismar) and Isabelle (Sarah Stork) and all the other characters cross.
Actors in “Solon”: This is the cast of the Bochum cinema film
This is the complete cast:
- Christopha (Alexia of Wismar)
- Isabelle (Sarah Stork)
- Sylvie (Annika Sala)
- Beatrice (Julia K. Stark)
- Loulou (Yassmine Martínez Perez)
- You have (Giampiero Piria)
- Ebbi (Arndt Sonnenschein)
- Secretary (Dimo Feldmann)
- Leo (Lennart Hahn)
- Aduy (Thomas Anzenhofer)
- Vlado (Orestes Fiedler)
- Rimas (Anthony Arndt)
- Robert (Timo Gastager)
- Caesar (Martin Horn)
Director wants to portray people in a sympathetic way with Bochum-based film “Solon”
A gangster couple, police officers in false clothing, a worried sister and a woman who makes risky decisions – all these characters are part of a web of betrayal, escape, love and deception. The focus is on the town of Solon, inspired by the ancient legend of Solon and Croesus, which warns us not to overlook the essential.
In addition to an exciting plot, director Saad also wants to highlight the people of the city: “Bochum is very close to my heart and in addition to an exciting plot, we will show the city and its people as successfully and sympathetically as they need to become much more well-known in the republic.”
“Solon”: Film shot in Bochum needed financial support
In order to achieve this, the film had to make do with a small budget. The Foundation for Culture & Science of the Sparkasse Bochum as well as Bochum companies such as Baltz, Vonovia, the Moritz Fiege private brewery and many others helped the production with their financial support and by making their premises available as locations.
“Solon” is intended to gain nationwide relevance through cooperation with the film distributor ImmerGuteFilme and many cinema operators and will be submitted to renowned German film festivals such as those in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. “Our aim is to show Bochum’s diversity and potential and to contribute to German film culture,” says co-producer and distributor Mustafa El Mesaoudi.
