Animal activist Hannes Jaenicke "After the second visit, octopuses start taking the piss"
He is an actor with attitude. Hannes Jaenicke makes his heart's desire possible by appearing in a crime series and a medical series: nature documentaries and the fight for animal and environmental protection.
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- Although he turned 65 at the end of February, Hannes Jaenicke is driving under full load. And of course you can't tell his age from the well-trained exceptional actor, who became famous with films such as the Götz George thriller "Abwärts", but then above all with "Die Sieger" or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".
- The German-American, whose house in California was recently destroyed in the fires, devotes all his energy to visionary nature conservation projects.
- Jaenicke, himself a member of the Green Party, has his own way of popularizing his proposals for improvement. He makes films that have a mission. Or ones that give him room for further work.
- The conservationist and animal rights activist can currently be seen in two new ARD crime thrillers in the "Amsterdam Krimi" series (Thursday, May 8 and 15, 8.15 p.m.) and three new episodes of the ZDF therapist romance "Dr. Nice" (from Sunday, May 11, 8.15 p.m.).
Hannes Jaenicke, you are currently filming in Indonesia for what is sure to be another stirring new edition of your nature documentary series "Im Einsatz für ...", which runs in September. This time you're focusing on very special sea creatures: octopuses aren't all that sleek as main characters for a documentary, are they?
There are two camps. One camp says: "The octopus is my favorite animal. They have octopus-shaped cushions and other decor lying around at home. And there's an enemy camp that finds the animal disgusting. We use the animal as an example because it perfectly represents the issue of overfishing and marine pollution.
And because it is a popular food animal that is unfortunately still considered a delicacy. There are currently even efforts to intensify this: A large Spanish fish company wants to breed octopuses on a large scale in tanks in the Canary Islands - similar to salmon farms. And of course that would be a new form of torture farming.
What fascinates you about these animals?
We are talking about a highly intelligent, largely unexplored creature. Octopuses have a brain in each arm. They learn quickly and use tools. After the second visit as a diver, they start to play tricks on you. They recognize you and play with you.
Quite a few people still think the animals are creepy.
The funniest octopuses are not much bigger than a few centimetres. The famous mimicry octopus would immediately take on the color of the tabletop on the table in front of me. It would be black on my sweater. And there on my trousers it would be green - all in a fraction of a second.
We had a lot of fun shooting with the coconut octopus. It likes to hide. Our specimen kept retreating very cleverly into props, sometimes shells, sometimes coconut shells. Unfortunately, such hiding places in the sea are increasingly plastic bottles. You can tell a lot about our destructive consumer behavior through the octopus.
Why don't you tell us a bit more - also about the diving shoot?
We shoot the wildlife part of the documentary in different locations, for example on Krk, the Croatian island. There I meet a famous octopus researcher who studies animals that live in the wild. But he also breeds them in tanks. And then we shoot at sea nomads, called Bajos. They live in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. These are people who have lived on the water for thousands of years.
How do you imagine their everyday life on the waves?
They used to live on ships connected by ropes, but now they also live on pile dwellings. These sea nomads divide their fishing areas into zones. They repeatedly close two zones for fishing so that the octopus population can recover there. In the meantime, they only fish in the other zones. These fishermen fish the way we should all fish - sustainably. Interestingly, they don't eat the octopus catch themselves, they sell it all to the EU.
What can you learn from that?
It's about appreciating what's really important - your own livelihood. People used to fish with dynamite in these areas. Naturally, the fishermen endangered their own livelihoods. Gradually, the sustainable form of fishing has prevailed. We also filmed at a second location: in Lembe. This is near Manado in northern Sulawesi. There is a strait there where many of these funny octopus species cavort.
They also go into the water, don't they?
Of course. There are always four of us - my production partner and cameraman Markus Strobel, the director Eva Gfirtner and a colleague for sound and drone flights.
Shooting with animals is already difficult. But then also under water. A special thrill?
Of course. We once made a movie about dolphins. First day: no dolphin. Second day of filming: one dolphin. Third day of filming: five dolphins. Fourth day of filming: 20 dolphins. After a week, we were swimming with 80 dolphins. We were outrageously lucky. But of course you can't rely on that.
How can you plan anyway?
Good advance research. We can't just lie in wait for weeks until something happens - like the BBC does in its nature films. They have just made a movie about the very rare False Killer Whale. It took the filmmakers months to get five animals in front of the camera in the end. In the making-of you can see how the people involved almost despair. We don't have that much time or money. We work with a budget in the low six-figure range, the BBC with tens of millions.
How do you organize your everyday life around such documentary productions? How do you put together your annual schedule?
Well: First of all, we create a written script and submit it to ZDF. Then it is waved through - or not. Then we discuss the budget and plan the locations. And at some point, we get started. It's often more complicated with fictional films.
Why is that?
We are now waiting for the "Amsterdam Krimi" broadcast in May, for example. As soon as we have the ratings and they are in line, we decide when to continue filming. If it's really good, we'll probably continue filming next winter. If not, "Amsterdam Krimi" will either be postponed or canceled. Only then will I know whether I have to block out the winter for this fictional work or whether I can plan other things.
Can't do anything else then?
Not really. I sometimes get one or two days of filming elsewhere. I've got a fun guest role on "Dr. Nice", that just works out between the Amsterdam shoots.
How does that work?
Then I somehow travel from Amsterdam to Flensburg in between, which sounds close but is quite a world trip by train.
Once again about the ZDF documentary series: is there an exotic quota for the animal species?
It's been running for almost 20 years now. We started with exotic species. It was about orangutans, elephant poaching, the hunting of rhinos and lions. Then I asked myself: why are we always pointing out grievances in the so-called Third World?
And?
In some cases, the number of endangered animal species is higher here than in Asia and Africa. But hardly anyone talks about this. Most people don't have biodiversity loss on their radar. The topic is highly explosive and therefore very interesting from a cinematic point of view. If we have no more insects, there will be no more pollination. If we have no earthworms, there will be no more humus.
Why are there fewer and fewer mosquitoes in our latitudes? What happens to the swallows and swifts? It always has to do with industrial agriculture, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The sky used to be full of swallows and swifts. You could see them: What's the weather going to be like? You also had to regularly clean your windshield when driving on the highway. Today: hardly any insects on the windshield. The use of these pesticides is called 'plant protection'.
You hardly even see sparrows any more.
However, they are dying out in the countryside and only survive in the city. Birds that don't migrate, such as blackbirds, still have the best chance here. In the meantime, storks no longer even fly away for the winter. There are now several nests in southern Germany that are occupied all year round.
Do you see your nature documentaries as formats that, in the best-case scenario, can be used to make a difference, to change things?
That's the reason why I do it. I don't do it because I'm bored. And from a financial point of view, documentaries don't pay off anyway. It's a passion project for both my partners and me. We do it because every now and then we want to create something that really makes a difference. And sometimes it works.
One example was our movie about salmon farms: It was shown on ZDF on a Tuesday evening at 10.15 pm. The next day, the share price of the four largest Norwegian salmon suppliers plummeted by 11 to 13 percent. In the organic store where I shop at home, there used to be four types of organic salmon. Now there are only two. The soil film has also caused a stir. Or the documentary about pigs and factory farming: there were some strong reactions, especially from the agricultural lobby.
How close is the criticism to you?
I can live with shitstorms. Then I know that we've taken up the right topic. The farmers know exactly what they are doing to the soil. There are two types of farmers.
How do you divide them up?
Some say: we can't do without glyphosate. The others say: We are destroying the soil. And that's why there are great, committed farmers, often organic farmers, and others who work with chemicals. Some time ago, we were filming in Burgenland in Austria - in a vineyard. There was a border running through the middle of the slope. One side was cultivated conventionally. Chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers were used there. Next to it was an organic winegrower. He had weeds growing, there were insects, it was buzzing and humming, everything was green and overgrown. And the other side looked like a desert with a granulate coating, that was the artificial fertilizer.
And why do they each decide to go their own way?
You have to excuse them for the most part: The price pressure on farmers from the food industry is brutal. All the Lidls, Aldis, Rewes, Edekas, for example, come to the winegrowers with exactly one question:
How much does your bottle of wine cost? It costs one cent less at the neighboring vintner! Prices are pushed down until many farmers give up and only large farms survive. Of course, it's easier to produce cheaply with glyphosate. But it is also unhealthier. This has to do with a completely absurd subsidy policy.
How should we understand this?
Farmers are subsidized according to hectare area and farm size. It's not based on the quality of the food, but on the size of your farm. And the much lamented demise of farms is intentional.
A steep thesis.
The more small farmers give up, the bigger the large farmers become. The more land a farmer has, the more subsidies he can collect. The subsidy system should be put to the test.
How worried are you that the order of issues will shift again at a time when many people are concerned about the global situation? Many people say: environmental commitment is something for the good times, if you can afford it.
That's understandable. And very stupid. Even during the 2008 financial crisis, the German government was saying that environmental protection had to take a back seat. Now Friedrich Merz comes along and says: We have the Ukraine war and Trump, and that all has to take a back seat now.
How do you counter that?
It's about the nest we live in, our livelihoods. Every meteorologist at Munich Re, at Swiss Re, at the Institute for Climate Research in Potsdam, can calculate quite precisely how much more expensive it will be not to invest now - in forest protection, for example. We have to take precautions now. Not doing so would be extremely short-sighted. Once the soil has been destroyed, once an animal species has become extinct, once a habitat has been destroyed, how are you going to reverse that? Why are so many refugees coming from the sub-Saharan zone? Because they are no longer harvesting crops.
You yourself are a member of the Green Party. How itchy are you to perhaps switch sides?
I definitely won't do that.
Why?
I make more of a difference with my documentaries than when I'm battling it out in party committees. I only have to look at the coalition negotiations. It's insane. There are months of negotiations for bad compromises. In that time, I can make documentaries and give talks. And with my small foundation, the Pelorus Jack Foundation, I achieve more than with politics.
You could also put your feet up and pursue a fun hobby.
Thank God I enjoy my work. I looked for a job that I wouldn't even call work. My mother always said: find a job that you enjoy. Fortunately, that worked out.
Nevertheless, you have to earn a few buns. Do big fictional things like the "Amsterdam" series give you the breathing space you need for other projects?
It pays my rent. And the "Amsterdam Crime" is my absolute heart project, I love this series. I love shooting in Amsterdam, I have a fantastic team there. And a producer and editorial team who really try to break the German crime thriller cliché.
What do you mean by that?
We don't make films along the lines of: two cops find a body and then ask: who did it? There are enough good "crime scenes" for my taste, we have to come up with something new.
How powerful or how successful do you have to be to raise your hand and say: that's a cliché.
Most of the actors I know do that. They fight for good books. But unfortunately we are not a country with a strong writing culture. Between 1933 and 1945, we either chased most of the great talents abroad or gassed them. Hollywood was made great by German, Austrian and Eastern European Jews
We have never recovered from this loss in this country. In the case of "Amsterdam-Krimi", we work on the books for a long time - and discuss them intensively. Fortunately, I have a producer, Barbara Thielen, who is following this path. If you look at the films, you'll notice that the Amsterdam-Krimi is not a case of bungling, but of working hard and fighting.
A word about your series "Dr. Nice".
Great fun.
Why is that?
I play the psychiatrist of a doctor who eats pills. And who can no longer actually practise his profession as a surgeon due to an accident. It's a bit like in "Doctor House". It's not a reinvention of the genre, but it's a really refreshing concept. "Dr. Nice" is a mixture of "Doctor House", "Grey's Anatomy" and "This Is Us".
Is this a therapist you should be afraid of? Or who can lead you astray?
I'm a proponent of therapy. We go to the dentist too. Why don't we look after our souls in the same way? That's how the psychiatrist I play in "Dr. Nice" sees it, he's clever, observes things closely and has just as little control over his own life as his patients. Playing therapists is exciting, I hope I get to do it for a while yet. The next six episodes have already been commissioned. The series is both funny and emotional, which is extremely rare in this country.
