IN BETWEEN
FRIDAYS
"The system has not left here all at once. [...] We are not somewhere in space. We also have to make sure that we survive."
An off-grid community caught in a moral conflict between the commercial mainstream and sustainable living away from the consumer society.
Duration: 97′
Format: 2.39 : 1 (2K)
Language: German
(Subtitles: English)
Release year: 2023
Filming location: Tojeiro (Portugal)
PROLOGUE
The Fridayhappiness Associação is an artistic and cultural community working towards the goal of self-sustainability. The community is located in Tojeiro, in the mountains of Monchique, in the south of Portugal. Far from the big cities and surrounded by nature, the community offers an alternative way of life with permaculture gardens, farm animals, sustainability projects and art and culture workshops. Volunteers from all over the world help manage the community's gardens, animals and daily life throughout the year. But the heart of the community is the Pizza Night, which is the main source of income for the constantly evolving community.
Pizza Night has been held every Friday for the past nine years, including Christmas and other holidays. During the event, the community opens its doors weekly to up to 1,600 guests from all over the world. As well as an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, visitors have the opportunity to party until the early hours of the morning on one of three open-air dance floors. Due to its special character, the event has made a name for itself beyond the country's borders and regularly welcomes DJs from all over Europe.
FILM CONTENT
The film gives an insight into the daily life of a community of drop-outs in the mountains of Monchique, who have stumbled upon an unusual business idea. Pizza Night - a weekly party that has become one of the biggest events in southern Portugal and the community's main source of income. The film focuses on German expat Rudi, the founder and leader of the small village of Tojeiro, his former partner Katharina, their son Francesco and Rudi's current partner Bea. The film follows their lives away from the notorious parties and their lives with up to 80 other international helpers in their new home. Is the event really a morally and environmentally acceptable source of income and how do the members justify their lifestyle?
The outbreak of the global pandemic forces the community to temporarily close its doors to outsiders, and the organisers find themselves in increasing financial difficulties. The community needs nearly 70,000 euros in donations, reserves and loans to continue. The question is how the community can survive independently in the long term.
PROTAGONISTS
RUDI
The documentary’s main protagonist is Rudi (Rudolf Strelow) - a 55-year-old German expat with academic degrees in mechanical engineering, business administration and social psychology.
Twelve years ago, the native of Gladbach, Germany, moved to Portugal with his then partner Katharina and their six-year-old son Francesco to realise their dream of a self-sufficient life. But the climatic conditions made it difficult to cultivate the land. As luck would have it, the first pizza night took place among friends and acquaintances. Rudi saw the potential and was able to use his business skills to create a regular source of income.
Since then, he has found himself playing the role of mentor, coordinator or entrepreneur in Tojeiro and doing everything he can to continuously improve the place.
KATHARINA
The trained hotel manager lives a little away from the community to escape its hustle and bustle from time to time. As co-founder of the Fridayhappieness Associação, she is involved in the daily life of the community as a coordinator and leads the pizza team, among other things. Being in nature is more important to her than partying.
FRANCESCO
Katharina's 18-year-old son goes to school in Portimão, 30 kilometres away, during the week. At weekends he helps out at the parties and would like to follow in Rudi's footsteps. After school, however, he says he wants to take time out from the sometimes overcrowded community and travel the world.
BEA
Bea has been living in Tojeiro since 2020 and originally came to the community as a volunteer from Italy. Now, she is Rudi's partner and in charge of the volunteers and their daily tasks.
For the future, she plans merchandise projects and her own shop for the community.
TARGET AUDIENCE & RELEVANCE
Tojeiro, with its idyllic landscape, its interesting inhabitants, and its unusual business ideas, provides an ideal focus for fostering the curiosity of a young, freedom-loving audience. Several hundred thousand guests and volunteers have already enjoyed the unique character and atmosphere of this place, which is why the municipality has become so well known outside Portugal and enjoys a large following. This network, in addition to the network of international artists who have contributed their art, will be used in the marketing of the film.
The film is intended to give the viewers an honest insight into the unique reality of dropout life. Especially when it comes to the possibility of a sustainable life and its conflict with increasing commercialization, both sides of the story are portrayed. Thus, we have created a film that uses beautiful imagery to transport the audience into the mountains of southern Portugal, allows them to deeply contemplate the subject matter, but never forgets to leave room for personal judgment.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
When Aljoscha told me about Pizza Night during our first trip around Portugal a few years ago, I was skeptical. Why should we drive 30 kilometers for an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet? Even during the drive to Tojeiro, I remained doubtful. Hilly roads with potholes as big as bicycle tires led us to the base of a small mountain, from which we followed the crowds of people towards the entrance.
After our first walk across the grounds, all of my doubts had evaporated. Everything seemed improvised and chaotic, yet exactly as it should be. I was fascinated by the unique nature of the place and the warmth radiated by the people there. Rudi was just as quirky as the place itself. Despite his wizened appearance, he was an educated, ambitious man. Even then, I wondered what motivated him and what his goals and plans would be for this very special place.
These thoughts resurfaced again at the beginning of the pandemic. I was keen to find out how the community would ensure its survival during this turbulent time, so I contacted Rudi again. He told me about the situation on the ground and how he was working on a concept to reopen the commune. It became clear to me that this had to be the moment to revisit Tojeiro, observing and documenting the life of the local community.
And thus, the foundation for the documentary was laid.
CREW
Maximilian Geschke
Director/ Producer
The up-and-coming filmmakerand producer with a degree in media management from the Technischen Universität Ilmenau has was a Junior Producer for various non fiction formats with the focus on art and culture. He currently works for the renowned documentary production company "berlin producers Media GmbH", where he collaborates on projects for broadcasters such as Arte, ZDF and WDR.
Aljoscha Habel
Creative Producer/
B- Camera Operator
The Frankfurt-based photographer and videographer with a bachelor's degree in economics from the Goethe – Universität Frankfurt am Main was able to attain a broad skillset through his work on the committee of the Rhetorik-Club Frankfurt e.V. and his stage experience as an actor.
Annemarie Chladek
Director of Photography
Over the past four years, the Berlin-based cinematographer and filmmaker has gained experience as a cinematographer and camera assistant on over 30 national and international productions. She has also worked as an assistant on successful feature films and series such as Dark and You Are Wanted, she is currently working as DOP on the feature film Cat Hunt.
Henrike Dosk
Editor/ Dramaturge
Since 2009, the Berlin-based editor has been editing fictional and documentary material. In addition to regular assignments for various formats of Deutschen Welle, she edited, among others, the long-term documentary Win by Fall (rbb)the tragicomedy Strawberry Bubblegums (NDR) and the documentary film The One Who Runs Away Is The Ghost, which was nominated for Best Editing in the 2021 IDFA International Competition.
The up-and-coming filmmakerand producer with a degree in media management from the Technischen Universität Ilmenau has was a Junior Producer for various non fiction formats with the focus on art and culture. He currently works for the renowned documentary production company "berlin producers Media GmbH", where he collaborates on projects for broadcasters such as Arte, ZDF and WDR.
The Frankfurt-based photographer and videographer with a bachelor's degree in economics from the Goethe – Universität Frankfurt am Main was able to attain a broad skillset through his work on the committee of the Rhetorik-Club Frankfurt e.V. and his stage experience as an actor.
Over the past four years, the Berlin-based cinematographer and filmmaker has gained experience as a cinematographer and camera assistant on over 30 national and international productions. She has also worked as an assistant on successful feature films and series such as Dark and You Are Wanted, she is currently working as DOP on the feature film Cat Hunt.
Since 2009, the Berlin-based editor has been editing fictional and documentary material. In addition to regular assignments for various formats of Deutschen Welle, she edited, among others, the long-term documentary Win by Fall (rbb)the tragicomedy Strawberry Bubblegums (NDR) and the documentary film The One Who Runs Away Is The Ghost, which was nominated for Best Editing in the 2021 IDFA International Competition.
Soundtrack
Flimboy is a duo from Marburg, Germany, consisting of Julian Völker and Simon Conrads. Together they have already released three albums on Spotify. Their music has a relaxed, lo-fi character. For the film, they provide their previous songs as well as their new, unreleased album If I Behave. for the soundtrack.
Jacques SurpriseBorn in Toulouse in the early 80s, he initially kept his head above water with street music. He now divides his time between Greifswald and Berlin, working as a producer and session musician. His debut album tombée de la nuit an the EP In between fridays are available via Birdton .
In addition, internationally known DJs such as Julian Wassermann, Victor Pilawa and others provide individual tracks for the film.
English 
German