23.09.2024
The film foundation-supported production “Cranko“ by director and screenwriter Joachim Lang celebrates on Monday, 23 September, in the presence of the director, the leading actor Sam Riley and the film team NRW premiere in the Lichtburg Essen. Besides Riley, there were Hanns Zischler and Lucas Gregorowicz in front of the camera. The film will be released in cinemas on October 3rd.
To the film:
Stuttgart 1960 – when the choreographer John Cranko lands by plane, he has no idea that this moment will change his life. He is to choreograph as a guest at the Stuttgart Ballet. Nothing can hold him back in London, where he had to endure numerous humiliations, including a ban on working, because of his homosexuality. In the tranquil city, John Cranko recovers from his humiliating experiences; no one seems to mind his unconventional lifestyle. After a short time, he becomes ballet director, a darling of the audience, devotes himself to his art and an intoxicating lifestyle, has affairs, suffers private setbacks and deep crises, runs his office in the theater canteen and refers to his company as ‘his children’. The rapid and steep rise to the top of the world, the “Stuttgart Ballet Miracle”, makes John Cranko a superstar of his time. Driven by his obsession and passion for his work, John Cranko is always on the lookout for perfection. At the height of his career, he dies, unexpectedly and far too young, on the return flight from a tour of his company in the USA, surrounded by the dancers who were on board with him.
The drama was directed by Time Jump Pictures with broadcaster participation of SWR produced. The Film and Media Foundation NRW supported production and distribution with 415,000 euros. Port au Prince Pictures brings the film to cinemas.
