Society

The crime series “Tatort” is one of the most popular shows on German TV. In addition to excitement and action, the program is always filmed in new locations and covers a range of current social topics – including women’s football.

The 53rd episode of “Tatort” will air on June 19, exactly one week before the opening kickoff at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011. Titled Offside, the show will feature Ludwigshafen commissioner Lena Odenthal investigating a crime at a women’s football club. A young player has been murdered. Was it jealousy, bruised vanity or xenophobia – the victim has a history of migration. It won’t be the first time football has been the focus of the show, but it is the first time women’s football is put under the spotlight. The episode is being produced by Maran Film in cooperation with SWR, one of the nine ARD regional broadcasting organizations that features its own crime series. Sabine Tettenborn is the director of Maran Film and has been involved with over 40 episodes of “Tatort”.

Ulrike Folkerts was the first choice

“We have been thinking about women’s football for a while. In fact, since 2009 we have been working on an idea,” says Ms. Tettenborn. “The screenplay author, Jürgen Werner, then managed to treat the subject and cover all of its facets.” Her company handles three “Tatort” series: Lena Odenthal in Ludwigshafen, Klara Blum in Konstanz and Thorsten Lannert und Sebastian Bootz from Stuttgart. But from the beginning it was clear that Ulrike Folkerts would take the role of Lena Odenthal in the football episode. As a member of the “Top 11 for 2011”, she and other celebrities are strong supporters of the Women’s World Cup. “She was excited about it and thought we did a good job with the concept.”

Despite the fictional nature of the program, an attempt is always made to infuse it with a large portion of reality. When the “fictional” player (also a national team player) is murdered, German Football Association director Theo Zwanziger visits her teammates. “We were in contact with him at the beginning and he told us that if something like that ever happened – a murder in a women’s football team – he actually would visit the team and talk to them about it,” says Tettenborn.

Another aspect of it was that the figure in the show, Fadime Gülüc, has a history of migration. That was not just important for the filming, but also a central topic for women’s football in general because many players come from other countries. Steffi Jones, for example, is a former national team player and current OC president of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011, and Célia Okoyino da Mbabi wore the number 13 for the German national team. The two also made cameo appearances in the episode after having read and enjoyed the script. Célia plays the best friend of the victim and liked being part of the project, as did Theo Zwanziger, who is a dedicated fan of “Tatort”. He said in an interview that he relished the opportunity to play a bit part and saw it as a way of bringing women’s football closer to millions of viewers. He wants to help motivate young women to get involved with the game regardless of where they may be from.

“Tatort” covers pertinent topics

So will it be a good promotional vehicle for women’s football? “Tatort is really popular and I think both sides will benefit from it”, says Tettenborn. The goal is to provide not only exciting topics but also current ones. In 2009, one show touched on the subject of discounters and the working conditions they provide. The episode earned them a ver.di media award. “We approached a topic that was just waiting for attention. That is why this episode will air a week before the World Cup begins.”

But it is not just the subject matter that is authentic. Some of the actors are real as well. Some regional club players got involved in the action for the fictional FC Eppheim team. Filiz Koc, former Turkish national player and current member of TSV Havelse, played Fadime Gülüc. She knows what it’s like to be a player. “They work like the professionals but earn like amateurs and each of them has at least one or two other jobs,” says Tettenborn, adding that, “The film may help us bring that sort of injustice to light. Women’s football is not nearly as popular as men’s.” She is hoping that the timing of the episode will give an added kick to the sport as a whole.

Fingers crossed for the German team

Sabine Tettenborn used to love kicking the ball around with the boys when she was a kid. “But I never had the chance to build on it so I chose track and field in high school,” she recalls somewhat impishly. Both her sons are FC Bayern fans so she watches the Bundesliga. She “is no expert”, but women’s football is something she enjoys and can get excited about, especially when the national team is playing. “They are in the episode as well. It’s a training scene,” she says. Tettenborn admires the Brazilian women, who have an “interesting and strong team this year”, but she is crossing her fingers for Célia, Babette, Nadine and the other German national team players.