Sloborn - ZDF mini-series about the bird flu virus pandemic

On TV screens, people are panicking because of the deadly bird flu pandemic. That is the mutated H5N1 virus, which is much more contagious than the one that left Hong Kong in 1997 and horrified the whole world. In front of the screen, people are in a panic because of COVID-19, which is just as contagious as this one on the screens. But luckily less deadly.

Why should people in quarantine, or those with COVID-19, consider whether or not to watch the Sloborn series?

It would be easy to argue that this TV series has success because she matches the COVID-19 pandemic. But the truth is different when it is backed up by dates. The Sloborn series began filming on August 29, 2019, on the islet of Nordeney and in Sopot, Poland. Post-production started in December 2019, so that the series would be finished in May 2020. The first episode of Sloborn was broadcast on July 23, 2020, on ZDF. It attracted 690,000 spectators. Records were falling one after another. The on-screen H5N1 pandemic coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic in reality. So much so that at ZDF, they were thinking of postponing the series for better times. The series belongs to the catastrophe genre. But has a certain in parts, some soap - opera forms, like most catastrophe movies and series. But the way he identifies with current reality necessarily acts as a real-life horror. Why should people who are in self-isolation, or have the COVID-19 virus, be careful when deciding whether or not to watch this German-Danish apocalyptic series? Because the last three episodes of the eight filmed are really depressing in terms of how the human race is coping with the bird flu pandemic. What is the Sloborn series really about?

The isolated islet of Sloborn in the north of Germany lives by its usual rhythm. The daily life of a small tourist island will soon be interrupted by a small boat stranded on its shores. Three drunken teenagers find a yacht and decide to explore the interior of the cabin. In addition to money and a cell phone, there are two dead bodies on the board. The kids escape from the boat, but they take the deadly mutant bird flu virus with them. Soon one of them, Ole, dies in agony.

Fifteen-year-old Evelyn just found out she was pregnant and infected with a rare type C - bird flu virus

Teenager Evelin - starring Emily Kusche, finds out she is pregnant. Shockingly, it is even more shocking that the father of the child is her pedagogue, Milan Gruber - starring Marc Benjamin. She is still just a child, a fifteen-year-old in love with her professor. And it has to deal with unwanted pregnancies and deadly viruses as well. Evelyn is a carrier of a rare form of bird flu, the C-virus. She seems to be partially immune to the virus, so the government may want to sacrifice her as a guinea pig for the benefit of humanity. And while Evelyn is fleeing, relying mostly on herself, other islanders, who are initially dealing with life’s downturns and occasional ups and downs, are hit by a pandemic. Soon the population was divided into supporters of Government measures, who trusted in the Government and Jesus. The other distrustful part, some kind of anti-vaxers, decides to disregard the Government instructions. It seems that at least according to this series, one should side with the anti-vaxers. Why? You will have to find out for yourselves, after watching eight episodes.

The first five episodes are a slow burn, while the last three are furious and apocalyptic, then the series is renamed Sloborn

The first five episodes were filmed as a slightly longer prologue, in the form of a soap - opera. We meet the residents of the island and follow their daily lives. The virus is there, among them. But the deadly harvest has not yet begun. The turbulence comes after the fifth episode. When I wrote that people who perceive COVID-19 as a hint of the apocalypse or are infected should not take watch the last three episodes, I meant it. The finish of the series is a sequence of apocalyptic images that we have seen in the past on the movie screen. But no movie or TV series has caught up with the real pandemic. Because COVID-19 didn't even exist. So far. This series is further made interesting by the fact that it was filmed just before the appearance of the Wuhan virus. You have to ask yourself, 'How did they know all this?'

Casting is perfect. Young Emily Kushe is the main character of the Sloborn series - Evelyn Kern. Then Alexander Sheer, whom we remember from the movie Carlos. Sheer also starring Keith Richards in the film Das Wilde Liebe. In Sloborn, Sheer brilliantly plays the failed and cocaine-prone writer Nikolai Wagner. He comes to earn some euros at Sloborn with the reputation of a brilliant author, as a guest of a literary evening. Broken by the cocaine crisis, he goes through hell before hell with the virus. The great Danish actor Roland Moller is Magnus Frisker. He comes to Sloborn to establish a commune of young convicts, who would overcome associative problems through work and socializing and return to the right path. His redemption to society is interrupted by a virus that comes as a final catharsis, a purification. In addition to the mentioned actors, there are several outstanding supporting roles in the series that enrich the tv series and raise its level of quality.

The author of the series Christian Alvart conceived the series, wrote the script, directed it, and shot it personally!

The series is entirely the work of Christian Alvart. He designed the series, wrote the script, directed it, and was the main cameraman! Only he didn't write the music for the series. The music is the work of Christoph Schauer, who worked on the film Abgeschnitten, about which we wrote a review this spring.

The overall impression of the series is very favorable. Whether you fall into the anti-vaxer category or trust the Government, feel free to check out the series. It is well designed, written, and directed. Even better acted. And it is in a trend, no doubt.