Simon Batta - the Movie

This project is a creative initiative focusing on the story of Simon Batta, a man who struggled with youth crime and drug abuse. Simon began drinking and smoking at the age of 9, influenced by his father. He committed crimes in an attempt to gain his parents' approval. His life changed when he met Hannah, a girl who pulled him out of this lifestyle. Tragically, Hannah was murdered by a sexual offender on her way home, which once again shook Simon's life.

Under the direction of Mika Wegner, Livia Kostka, and Denise Will, the project plans to produce a short fiction film (~40 minutes) and a short documentary (~40 minutes) that shed light on Simon's story and his relationship with Hannah. The goal is to present these films at a premiere/benefit event and then showcase them as online content and in special prevention workshops at schools.

The project is a non-profit initiative led by students. Should there be any revenue generated, for example, through benefit events or competitions where the films are presented, the proceeds will be reinvested in social projects. All contributors to this project are volunteering their work.

The aim of this project is to draw attention to issues such as youth crime, drug abuse, and sexual violence through Simon Batta's compelling life story. We hope to inspire viewers to engage emotionally and also to do preventive work. The films will be shown in workshops at schools to prevent youth crime and drug abuse.

Our team preparing to produce this film is extremely young. We're all somewhat still in the phase of gathering experience and currently undergoing training in the media industry or studying at renowned film schools. However, this doesn't deter us from giving our best for this project. Instead, we see it as an opportunity to learn and grow together, with the long-term goal of someday realizing a blockbuster! We're all driven by high motivation and look forward to learning a lot from this shoot. However, this also means that we have to realize this project in our spare time, alongside our professional or academic commitments. Therefore, we rely on evenings and weekends, and we're grateful for anyone willing to trade their weekend on the couch for participating in our project. All participants will volunteer their work purely out of interest. Due to this voluntary nature, there may occasionally be unforeseen delays. Yet, through careful planning and structured work, we strive to prevent such delays and do everything possible to achieve our goal of project completion by the end of the year.