Movie Tid-Bit : After giving the radio to Walter, Susskind wishes him good luck with the well; as he drives away, the reflection of the camera truck can be seen on the door of his truck, and the tire tracks from the camera truck are visible as the camera backs up. (Credit: imdb.com)

Nowhere in Africa on imdb.com

Commentary on the film’s director Caroline Link “Caroline Link carefully avoids Holocaust film fatigue by presenting fresh images that we have not seen before. She wisely focuses not on the war but on the juxtaposition of life in Germany and life in Kenya and of the stress of cultural displacement. By showing what the Holocaust meant for people who left Europe early enough to survive but who still suffered terribly because they had to leave their homes, their lives, and their loved ones behind, we get an insight into their life-altering but life-affirming decisions.” - Sue Garson of the San Diego Jewish Journal

German interview with Caroline Link:

Post-Oscar interview with the director of Nirgendwo in Afrika conducted by Margret Kohler of Film im Bayerischen Fernsehen (in German).

About the Production: Nirgendwo in Afrika was filmed on location in Germany, the North Sea and Kenya from January through April 2001. The Films was produced by Peter Herrmann who came across Zweig’s novel in 1995. He purchased the rights to the novel before it became a bestseller. Caroline Link agreed in 1998 to write the screenplay and to direct the film. Both Herrmann and Link travelled to Kenya in 1999 to see the original locations. To make the film more authentic the original location of Kenya was chosen, opposed to another African location such as South Africa which would have been less risky. In August 2000 a production office was set up in Nairobi. That summer a drought developed. The typical rainy season in spring had produced no rain. International relief organizations started to send food to North Kenya, the area hit hardest by the draught. Nairobi was on the brink of disaster, flooded with Massai and their flocks. The production team had already invested too much to turn back. Relocation would not be an option.

Rain held off until November. By then the set in Rongai had been built and artificially irrigated corn fields had been planted in various stages to show that time had elapsed. Link’s vision was for the farm to appear arid and desert like, she wanted the audience to recognize the area as inhospitable but still impressive. The second farm was filmed in Ol Joro Orok, this was to apapear lush and fertile. An antique looking farmhouse was built in a flat valley with a tiny riverbed. All of the village and field scenes were filmed in Mukutani. This is a community located 40 km from Lake Baringo with about 700 villagers, most of whom had never seen a white person. The Board of Elders agreed to the filming after a long deliberation. After filming a fund was set up in Germany to finance aid efforts for Mukutani. Regardless of the many mishaps and delays the film wrapped the Thursday before Easter as planed.