In 2018, the case of “Spiegel” journalist Claas Relotius made headlines. Many of his award-winning articles turn out to be fake, embellished and partly fictional. The scandal was uncovered by his colleague Juan Moreno, who recorded the experience in the book “A Thousand Lines of Lies”. His report served as a template for Bully Herbig’s satire “A Thousand Lines”. Moreno’s role was taken over by Elyas M’Barek.
The actor is now talking to ntv.de about his unwavering trust in journalism and his dealings with Instagram and Twitter, among other things.
ntv.de: How did the collaboration with Bully Herbig for “A Thousand Lines” come about? What attracted you to the project?
Elyas M’Barek: First of all I thought the idea of ??the film was great. And I was happy about the genre. At first you would assume that Elyas and Bully would make a funny film together. Although “A Thousand Lines” is entertaining and also humorous, it is not a classic comedy. On the contrary. I think it’s called satire, but the film also has a lot of serious aspects.
You were shooting during Corona. How difficult was that at one point or another?
The film takes place in many different countries – from Cuba to Spain to the USA. I was looking forward to many trips abroad and many different locations. But in the end we had to shoot a large part in Spain, which worked out really well. The film still looks international. You don’t even notice that Cuba wasn’t filmed in Cuba at all.
How much did you know about the Claas Relotius case before filming?
Actually quite a lot, because I had read some of his articles and found them really good. Those were articles that later made me realize that a lot of them weren’t true, for example “Jaeger’s Border” with the Border Patrol boys shooting at Mexican refugees. And just like in the film now, I thought back then: “What’s going on?” I really felt cheated.
So what drew you to the role of Juan Moreno, who now appears as Juan Romero in the film?
I had read his book that the film is based on, A Thousand Lines of Lies. In general, I’m a big fan of him as an author. I was immediately excited about the project and thought it was a great hero’s journey. A story about a supposed hero who isn’t one at all and one who actually is and who nobody believes.
So am I correct in assuming that you also met with Juan Moreno in preparation for the role?
We’re even friends now. I’m still in contact with him. I can only recommend everyone to read his books. Happiness Is No Place and A Thousand Lines of Lies are truly outstanding books. He’s a great person, above all a very smart guy. It’s super interesting what he experienced and how great he writes. And above all: He sticks to the truth. That is the big advantage compared to the other colleagues. (laughs)
Does contact with a real character make it easier or more difficult to play – especially since you know that this person will also look at the result afterwards?!
Although the film is based on and inspired by real events, we still tell a fictional story. I didn’t play a historical character and a lot of people aren’t that familiar with the story. Most of them noticed the scandal in passing, will only be entertained by seeing the film and then maybe check what exactly happened back then.
It’s not even that long ago. The case is from 2018, the whole thing seems to be from another time only because of the pandemic.
Exactly, but the topic is all the more relevant in times when fake news is quickly being talked about. One message conveyed by the film is that journalism can and should be believed in, and that unfortunately there are isolated cases that do not represent journalism as a whole. And unfortunately they really do a lot of damage. But I still believe in journalism. I believe what I read in the newspaper and what I see on the news on TV. I expect that too. I expect professional and honest people to do their job there.
So the Relotius case hasn’t changed this attitude?
No, I found it very positive how it was cleaned up. You can still read the articles in the archive that Relotius distributed and see what was wrong with them. Transparency was then created, albeit too late. That didn’t shake my confidence. I just thought, “Wow, does he even know what he’s doing with it?” I think he thought he could get away with it.
Has the first success perhaps gone to his head? Was too much expected of him then? Was a claim made on him because people liked to adorn themselves with him, which he could not do justice to without his lies?
I think it’s the art of impostors and manipulators to take people over and play with them. That’s why he got this far. Because people didn’t want to believe that, because he was “so nice, so charming”. This is also the case in our film. There is a scene where the porter at the publishing house thinks I’m the taxi driver – I’m not believed just based on my outward appearance. That’s a bit of the message: that you shouldn’t be blinded by superficial things and that you should always take a close look. That one should go through life with open eyes and not believe everything that is spread, especially on social media. It is better to place basic trust in well-founded journalism, i.e. in people who do their work and do research.
Especially during the height of the Corona pandemic, some of your colleagues have drifted in the direction of fake news from social media…
… and some are still there.
Do you think it’s better as an actor to stay out of public socio-political discourses, which is not the same as not having an opinion on things privately?!
Above all, I believe that I am not a journalist. (laughs) I think I don’t always have to add my two cents to everything, because I just don’t have a clue about certain things. And of course I have an opinion on it and I’ll say it when I’m asked about it. But – just like you said – not unchecked. It’s just dangerous because I’m aware of my responsibility. If I say something in an interview or post something, people will read it and probably believe it. I have to choose my words consciously and be sure.
How do you deal with the social media you just mentioned? Twitter in particular can spoil your mood. Or a comment or two on Instagram…
I have an ambivalent relationship with it. I use social media myself and also consume there, but with care. I don’t believe everything that is written and I am aware that a lot of people vent their frustration on the Internet, often on the backs of other, mostly defenseless people. The algorithms can be the devil, you can quickly find yourself in a bubble like that, which I don’t want. I inform myself somewhere else, not on Twitter and especially not on Instagram. This is for looking at pictures and not for forming an opinion.
Has it always been like this or was it a learning process? Especially when it comes to comments about yourself and your work…
Well, I know from my own experience that a lot of it is just nonsense. I know this from hearing stories about some colleagues, and I know it from stories I hear or read about myself. Then I just know that there is a lot of mischief going on in social media and also in many tabloid media. As a result, I deal with it professionally and usually can’t take it too seriously. I’m more sorry for people who probably really assume that all of this is true and then believe the angry mobs on the Internet and no longer weigh it up.
Do you select your interviewees, so are there well-known tabloids that you don’t talk to?
In principle, I believe it is the right of anyone who is interested to do an interview with me. Of course there are one or two people I’ve had bad experiences with, but that’s just like in normal life: I meet people in peace. But if someone betrays my trust or plays with my trust and doesn’t tell me the truth, then there is no reason to talk to them.
Nicole Ankelmann spoke to Elyas M’Barek
“A Thousand Lines” will be shown in German cinemas from September 29th.
