The Sweet Porridge

On Saturday a TV fairy tale celebrated its premiere in the Hackesche Höfe — one that was anything but easy to bring to the screen, given that this tale by the Brothers Grimm fits onto half a book page. What the writers Anja Kömmerling and Thomas Brinx then made of it thrilled the preview audience, and there were even a few tears to be seen, quickly wiped away as the house lights came up for the applause. Roland Wolf is allowed to show a very dark side here for the first time. His Ruben von Hammerlitz is not only a medieval villain; he is very much the prototype of today''s power-hungry man. Hunger reigns across the whole land. With longing the people recall a pot that once gave them sweet porridge in abundance. But a song tells that the pot was smashed and its pieces scattered to the four winds. Only the girl Jola refuses to believe such tales. In her desperate search for food for her mother and siblings, she meets a mysterious woman of the woods, who promises her the magical pot — if she possesses courage, mercy and wisdom. Jola sets out to find the shards. She is soon joined by a young man named Veit, who seems helpful but is in truth a driven soul: Veit is in debt and is being blackmailed by his brother, Count Ruben. The magic pot would be the very prize to rid Veit of his troubles in an instant. "Der süße Brei" is an adaptation of a well-known Grimm fairy tale within the "Märchenperlen" series. Filming took place at locations including the Bleiberg open-air museum and Kriebstein Castle.Kinderfilm GmbH on behalf of MDR and ZDFDirector: Frank StoyeCasting: Anne HeubnerFirst broadcastMonday, 24 December 2018, 3.05 p.m.Simultaneously on the ZDFmediathek