Some of us have that weird neighbour. The one that makes inexplicable noises at ungodly hours, or the one that hates any and all humans, but loves all 15 of their cats. However, it would be fair to say not many of us have neighbours like that of Der Bunker.

Already screened in cinemas across the world and with an official release date of 21st January in Berlin (see here for more details), Der Bunker is a black comedy that tells of a university student who rents a room in a family’s forest cabin to concentrate on his studies. However, things start to take a turn for the strange, when the family asks the student if he could help tutor their only son, Klaus. Only, this “child” has evidently been brought up in a rather odd household, and before long, the student starts to discover just how crazy a situation he’s got himself into.

The film’s director, Berlin-based Nikias Chryssos, tells Berlin Loves You of the response to Der Bunker, the filming process, and what we can expect from the talented filmmaker in the future.

“Der Bunker was a creative roller coaster, the film felt alive at all times,” says Chryssos. “We shot close to Berlin, in a suburban neighborhood called Kleinmachnow. The production team redesigned an entire regular family house as an underground bunker and then we locked ourselves in with the crew and actors. Soon, we felt quite psychotic ourselves.”

The German movie industry has a lot to be excited about, as along with recent stunning films like Victoria and Der Samurai, Der Bunker is a film that forges its own path – creating something truly unique and palpable. “It’s not a film for everyone, so I feel lucky it went to so many festivals where it received good feedback from the audience and also very positive press reviews,” tells Chryssos.

With an upcoming DVD release in late January in the US, Chryssos is thrilled for his first full-length film to become more open and accessible to a whole new set of film lovers – the ones that like to watch movies at home. “BluRay and DVD gives us a chance to produce some really nice bonus features like ‘deleted scenes.’ You’ll find some cool stuff like Klaus and his father speaking English in order to prepare the boy for the global stage or the mother singing a creepy lullaby,” Chryssos explains.

Off the success of winning ‘Best Director’ at the 2015 Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival for Der Bunker, Chryssos is currently working hard on his next projects, including a children’s movie that he describes as “Toy Story written by Roald Dahl.”

A clip from Der Bunker can be seen below.

Photo credit – Der Bunker still – Matthias Reisser © Kataskop Film & GFF KG

Photo credit – Nikias Chryssos – © Chaveli Sifre Riestra

Text: Joe Garland