A farm, a couple of chickens and some sheep. Add to that seven city-kids convicted with petty crimes and drug use, in search of meaning who get the unique chance to a fresh start on a therapy farm. They are wild, sad, loud, desperate, silent, reasonable, in love, baffling and have always something to say.
Pandas Don’t Cry (DEU), a 2020 Student Selection web series, deals with addictions and mental illness among young adults with flair and humour. Gina Wenzel, Writer and Director, spoke with Melbourne Webfest about how her series came to life.
What inspired you to create this series?
I studied social work before studying film and I worked with young people with mental disorders. That’s why this topic is so important to me. I wanted to show people my experiences.
What audience were you trying to reach and why?
I want to reach young people. I think series like “The End of the F***ing World”, “Skins” and “13 Reasons Why” show the great success of these series and the great demand. Especially in the youth phase, young people identify with characters from television or the web series, who have the same problems. You don’t feel alone and you see that it is important fighting for your self-determination.
“Pandas don’t cry”, why this title, what does it mean? I understand that it is a reference to Gaspar’s tattoo, but is there another meaning behind it?
It refers to a story that will be explained later. Its a secret until the fourth episode. Stay tuned!
If they only took one thing, one message, what would you like the audience to take away from the series?
The characters you see in the series have many traumatic experiences with abuse, discrimination and violence. They are extremely strong! They are fighting for their own lives. My message would be: “No matter what you have experienced bad…It always goes on! Life is valuable!”
Pandas Don’t Cry Trailer
What was your greatest challenge creating the show?
As always, there was unfortunately not enough money!
What is the future for Pandas don’t cry? Do you plan on making more episodes?
We would be incredibly happy if we were able to create more episodes, but therefore we need support from a tv channel. We have found a producer already and now we keep our fingers crossed.
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