Potsdam, 27 September 2024. The first take for the third winning project from the RTL+ "Storytellers" competition was shot a few days ago: in the comedy series SOFTIES, Damian Hardung, Samir Salim and Oskar Redfern take on the leading roles of a trio of men in their mid-twenties who are trying to break out of their old patterns and become modern men between pressure to perform, self-doubt and dishonourable one-night stands. Not so easy if you've never learnt to deal with your emotions, let alone talk about them.

The series concept comes from Jonathan Westphal and Yves Guillaume, both from the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, who are also directing the film. The female leads will be Carmen Redeker as Lotte and Aysha Joy Samuel as Linda. Regine Zimmermann takes on the role of Ophelia.

Eike Adler, Producer UFA Fiction: "With SOFTIES, we are creating a series that deals with the question of masculinity in an honest and humorous way. It is incredibly inspiring to work with young talents like Jonathan Westphal and Yves Guillaume, who bring this story to life with their fresh and creative energy. My special thanks go to Julian Schmelcher and Hauke Bartel from RTL, the whole team behind the camera and our amazing cast. I am sure that with this fantastic team we will create something unique."

Hauke Bartel, Head of Fiction at RTL: "SOFTIES is the third series project from our RTL+ 'Storytellers' young talent competition to be launched and we are delighted that filming has now begun. Jonathan Westphal and Yves Guillaume tell the authentic stories of three very different young men, as we all know them from our everyday lives, and deal with the topic of masculinity with a fresh perspective and in an extremely entertaining way. I wish the team and the phenomenal cast as much fun making the film as I had reading the great scripts."

SOFTIES is a UFA Fiction production commissioned by RTL+. It is produced by Eike Adler and directed by Yves Guillaume and Jonathan Westphal, who are also responsible for the idea and script. Rebecca Meining is responsible for the camera work. RTL's Julian Schmelcher is responsible for editing.