An email interview with film producer Frank Höfer, Leipzig/Hamburg 4/22/08.
By Cornelius Müller
Müller: Frank Höfer, why yet another film about September 11? Hasn’t everything already been said?
Höfer: Much has been said but certainly not the truth of the matter. As long as the mainstream media still sells ghost stories about Osama and his band of 19 outlaws, there can never be enough films made about September 11th which have as their goal educating the public as to the real events of that day.
Loose Change, the most successful film to date about September 11th, has been translated into numerous languages and belongs to one of the most viewed films of all times. Are there aspects of Loose Change which in your opinion fall short? What is different about your film?
Loose Change has become very successful and rightly so. However it is not necessarily because it was well researched but because it was the very first film which called into question the official version of the story. Some things fall short. Loose Change consists completely of hypotheses without proof. That is why Loose Change cannot be considered a credible source in the same way the Bush regime should be able to prove the official version but fails to do so. I wanted to salvage the facts found in Loose Change and other films in 9/11 False Flag for the German public because have come to realize that this theme has been made to appear almost ludicrous in Germany which is, by the way, just the opposite in all of our neighboring states.The most effective method that the mainstream media has to direct the attention of the public away from politically uncomfortable facts is to ignore those facts.
How does one go about producing a film which one can assume will be, from the very beginning, shut out of all marketing opportunities in established media sources like film distribution and television stations? How does one finance such an undertaking?
Idealism. I simply believe that those really responsible for the September 11th should not get away scot free. It is for that reason that it was clear to me that the question of if the film would be produced at all was not a question of the marketing possibilities. I financed the film out of my own pocket. Some people buy the film on the internet site of NuoViso where it can also be viewed and downloaded free of charge.
NuoViso Films is particularly distinguishable by its educational content. It also risks taking on themes which others leave well alone because they have been treated negatively in the media in the past like, for example, the UFO phenomenon. Can you say something about the genesis of Nuo Viso? What was the main idea behind the inception of this project?
In the mainstream media such themes are either given the silent treatment or made ludicrous because the “powers that be” desire it to be so. Unfortunately, most people believe everything that they see on television. They do not ask questions about which interests are being served thereby and who, ultimately, is bombarding them day in and day out with information, news and, supposedly, “educational” entertainment of the highest quality. People confuse freedom of expression with spin. We live democratic capitalism. That means that each person is free to express his own opinion whenever and wherever he so desires. Each person must merely be capable of living with the financial consequences of his words.
In this fast-paced capitalism truth has no value because people simply do not want to know the truth whereupon their society is based. That is understandable when one begins to look into the fundamental issues of our Western society.
This is stuff from which Nuo Viso is made. Information is presented in the form of films and documentaries which are available to the visitors of our page completely gratis and without necessitating registration. The central idea behind it is to develop a sense of consciousness for the possibility of creating a better world by making people aware that the current developments are taking us in the wrong direction. And that is true of almost every strata of our society.
Unter falscher Flagge (9/11 False Flag) has been running on the internet since its completion at the end of 2007. The resonance in the forums has been mainly positive. Many people have experienced a change in consciousness after researching the facts of September 11th. They see the backdrop of world affairs with new eyes. Which realization brought you to this theme? What was so important in it that a film evolved out of it?
I have long been interested and have researched conspiracy theories and secret societies such as the Bavarian Illuminati or the “Skull and Bones” secret society of which, by the way, President Bush is a member. It was out of these that my interest about September 11th emerged. When I realized that the conspiracy theories which had until then seemed to be rather pleasant and amusing entertainment actually correspond to reality, and there is absolutely no doubt about this even among experts, I was shocked. The fact that September 11th could not have been perpetrated by Islamic extremists is alone worthy of a film. Since I am always seeking material as a filmmaker, two of my interests coalesced.
Can you say something about the filming? How long did you work on the film? What difficulties were involved?
The filming took two months. We travelled first to those interviewed in the film and then to Brussels for the “United for Truth” demonstration for a new investigation into the events of September 11th. By the beginning of December 2007, I had decided that the collected material was sufficient to make a film. After reviewing the materials umpteen times it was possible for me to complete the editing in just four days. There were essentially no great difficulties during the whole period. I had no definitive plan and no script. I just trusted that the film would evolve by itself and it happened in just that way.
Among other aspects Unter falscher Flagge (9/11 False Flag) captivates through the rational and exact analysis of the experts interviewed: Andreas Hauß, Mathias Bröckers and Andreas v. Bülow. Lieutenant-Colonel Jochen Scholz makes through his expert knowledge of air-space defense simple connections available which are common knowledge of pilots but are hardly a matter of discussion in the media. How was it possible for the filmmaker Frank Höfer to win over these gentlemen for this film? Were the experts in such accord with regard to the content as it appears before the camera or were there disparities?
I sent interview questions to hundreds of people including many members of parliament with whom, in some cases, an exchange of emails ensued. With regard, however, to the written exchanges, I often felt more as though I were being interrogated than that the person in question wanted to work with the project. Prominent artists were prepared to make statements but their managers eventually refused to permit them to do so out the fear that they would damage their image thereby. I am especially pleased that Lieutenant-Colonel Scholz agreed to an interview. It was a given that my colleagues Hauß and Bröckers, who in my opinion have written the best book about the true reasons behind it all, would agree to appear. The international Truth Movement which was initiated in the USA grows each day. More and more people are seeking the truth. Each person researches different sources, facts and events. Each uncovers some sort of dirty business. There is great potential for misunderstanding and errors as well. I can only say that there was, for the most part, a great accord in the perspectives of the gentlemen who appeared in Unter falscher Flagge (9/11 False Flag). I also permitted each person interviewed to view the film so that no one felt as if he had walked into a trap. Some minimal alterations were necessary thereafter though they were relatively unimportant details.
You say: „ever more people realize that they are being lied to and have begun seeking the truth.“ This search for truth is realized first and foremost via the information available in the internet. It is, however, doubtful that the powers that be will stand by indefinitely and watch how their machinations are brought into the public forum by a better informed internet community. How do you see the future of the internet, particularly from the perspective of a film producer?
I cannot see into the future but if at some point internet access is no longer guaranteed, I can only urge each person to have reservations about what they are told. Experience and history show that civil rights are severely restricted in times of crises. It is obvious that we are navigating through a situation verging on crises.
The worldwide Truth Movement of which you speak is responsible for the fact that ever more connections are being recognized in the activities behind the political scene. Thanks to the internet and Google-video it is possible to recognize more clearly than ever before the complex intertwinement and goals of the global elite. The question remains: What can we do with this knowledge? How can the informed citizen use their political influence if at all?
I often hear that the individual cannot do much by himself alone. To that I can only say that no one is alone in this situation. There are now millions of people who understand what is happening behind the scenes of international politics. No one needs to have a planned strategy to trump the plans of the global elite. We must only make sure that the people are educated about these issues as quickly as possible. Each should discuss this with one another and seek solutions. In a crowd, we are strong. The people should finally take on and realize their responsibility as political leaders. The citizens have neglected this until now and power and the destiny of humanity has fallen time and again into the hands of criminals. An educated citizenry alone solves that problem since there are many mechanisms of self-protection within the system. The people must only ultimately wake up.
September 11th is an historical date without question. January 1st, 2009, which is less well-known, will also be an historical date. As of this date, the constitution of the EU will take effect and the German basic law will consequently be permanently lifted. No one will be able to appeal to it thereafter in the case of an emergency. It is frightening that hardly anyone is aware of the serious implications of this deadline. Only few actually know the text of the laws. How do you, as an activist and filmmaker, deal with the perspective of a rising police state? How should citizens behave in the future who might eventually, due solely to such interest in critical issues, be judged as “dangerous to the State”?
Online searches of people by the authorities were fought against vehemently yet they prevailed in the end. Furthermore, this law was barely passed before Schäuble and Zypries started screaming for the right to install video cameras and listening devices in private homes. That is when I start to ask myself seriously what is behind the whole debate about the Stasi, previously depicted as „evil“ incarnate, when their methods are being codified into law as we speak. As long as the masses remain silent and blindly obedient, it is possible for truth-seeking dissidents to be portrayed quickly as terrorists since most people cannot even tell the difference when they do not take the time to inform themselves. I can only advise others to inform themselves because it is difficult to declare an enlightened mass of people as “dangerous.”
Can you reveal to us the source of your energy which enabled you to edit a documentary in four days, to film in two months, and thereby to give out more money than you received? Were you previously trained or were you very angry? And: Is it possible to learn idealism?
The energy for such as enterprise springs forth, in fact, from the anger that one feels about the monstrous injustice that has befallen not only 3,000 victims on September 11th but the now over 2 million dead in Iraq as well. And when one hears that the Americans have utilized munitions out of depleted uranium which has lead to the birthrate of healthy children sinking by 20%, then it is impossible to do anything else that to scream these crimes out loud and call them by name. A film seemed to me the most appropriate medium for my message. If that is what you mean by “idealism,” I do not know if it is something that must be learned. Each person is given the gift of being able to differentiate between good and evil. Unfortunately it is difficult for many people to lead a devout and good life because evil constantly leads them into temptation.
