Whole Train

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"Wholetrain is the Dopest Graffiti Movie Ever" KRS-ONE

In his multi-award-winning cinema debut WHOLETRAIN, screenwriter/director FLORIAN GAAG tells the story of a crew of four graffiti writers – David (MIKE ADLER), Tino (FLORIAN RENNER), Elyas (ELYAS M´BAREK in his first major role) and Achim (JACOB MATSCHENZ) - who have dedicated themselves to the scene with its own hierarchies, values, rules and codes. Night after night, they set out to decorate the city's subways with their opulent graffiti-pieces. When another graffiti-crew turns up and challenges the four, a creative battle breaks out that will change the lives of the protagonists forever.

WHOLETRAIN tells the story of a life on the edge - constantly on the verge of illegality, always on the run from the police. It is about the conquest of urban spaces, about friendship, passion and unbridled creativity.

WHOLETRAIN is a highly suspenseful and emotionally gripping drama that delves deep into the secret cosmos of the graffiti scene. The main characters oscillate breathlessly between two worlds - their personal everyday lives and life in the crew. In a unique way, Florian Gaag succeeds in telling of the resulting tensions and hardships, drawing a multi-layered portrait of the characters and thus bringing this subculture authentically and vividly to life.
Fast cuts and terrific camera work, a fantastic soundtrack and an excellent acting ensemble make WHOLETRAIN an outstanding cinematic event.

The soundtrack was produced by Florian Gaag, who worked with legendary Hip-Hop greats such as KRS-ONE, FREDDIE FOXXX, O.C., PLANET ASIA, AFU-RA, GRAND AGENT, TAME ONE, AKROBATIK and EL DA SENSEI.

The aerosol artwork was created in collaboration with the internationally renowned graffiti writers WON ABC, NEON, CEMNOZ, PURE TFP, CIEL and MONS.

Press & Quotes

PRESS

ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
„A gripping drama with an outstanding cast. The most authentic German movie in a long time.“

SPIEGEL ONLINE
“Florian Gaag has shot a small film about sprayers and made a huge portrait on the Ninjas of this subculture. An excellent cinematic debut.”

BERLINER ZEITUNG
“Exact, sensitive and without cliches.”

ULYSSES
“This film simply hits you in the face, and you can’t get it out of your eyes, your ears, and your senses.”

SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG
“A febrile movie. A moving drama and homage to youth.”

See complete list here
DER SPIEGEL / KulturSPIEGEL
“Florian Gaag´s debut feature film offers a fascinating insider view of a subculture that operates deliberately in the dark. Gaag displays a remarkable talent as a director with an excellent feeling for tempo and atmosphere.”
TAZ
“Even the minor roles were well cast in a film that managed to convince in every detail, great fun indeed.”
FOCUS
“A rough and ready drama about rebellion, self-fulfillment and respect.”
EPD FILM
“A terrific love affair with the graffiti scene.”
“A wild and uncompromising film.”
“These characters are so real, real like we hardly ever see them in the cinema.”
“A phenomenal debut.”

DIE WELT
“The film is as fast as a speeding subway train.”
DE:BUG
“Fast moving, believable, great sense of humor and still with a sense of depth. “Above all, Florian Gaag's music binds the editing and condenses the film into a consistently captivating, exciting narrative.”
FILM-DIENST
“A furious debut film, one that adapts the aesthetic of graffiti in a clever way and knows just how to capture it in cinematic terms.”
“ Wholetrain, with its exact symbiosis of staccato editing, Hip-Hop sound design and racy plot, remains one of the best films of the year.”
3 SAT KULTURZEIT
“Authentic, fast-paced and rough...”Wholetrain” is the most convincing film in this section” (Berlin International Film Festival / Perspektive Deutsches Kino)
DIE PRESSE
A strong film, strong in expression and a symphony of individuality, the full spectrum of life in the city in all its colors.”

Quotes

KRS-ONE

(legendary MC from The Bronx / NYC; Hip-Hop-Icon):
„Florian Gaag has an excellent movie out. I am really proud to be part of that project. „Wholetrain“ is the dopest graffiti movie ever. I would put „Wholetrain“ next to the great movies, right up next to „Style Wars“. I thought that „Wholetrain“ really captured Hip Hop’s culture.“

CHARLIE AHEARN

(director of the Graffiti-film-classic „WILD STYLE“)
„I saw „Wholetrain“ at S.O.B.’s in New York, It was a great experience watching it. There was a tremendous amount of character development, interesting dialogue and a lot of story in it.
It took real vision to make that world come alive like that. „Wholetrain" is an impressive piece of work . It´s the only Graffiti-Movie that can follow in the footsteps of „Wild Style.“

HENRY CHALFANT

(author and photographer of the Graffiti-book „SUBWAY ART“, co-producer of the famed Graffiti-documentary „STYLE WARS“)
„Wholetrain“ shows the human dimensions of Graffiti-Writing. The social conflicts of the protagonists are fascinating and allow you to take a look at the writers´real lives. Real characters, real problems.
„Wholetrain“ is a very good film that not only reflects writing culture but also leaves room to authentically portray the writers´ social reality.“

KET

(Graffiti-writer from New York; Founder and Editor of „STRESS MAGAZINE“; Co-Founder and curator of „MUSEUM OF GRAFFITI“):
„I loved the movie. I thought that „Wholetrain“ represented the scene the best - ever.
It really captured what writers go through and their struggles; they were humanized, they weren’t caricatures. I appreciate that.
I remember that it made me feel that I was there with those guys, living with those guys. It took me back to a time when I was living the way those kids were living. I thought it was very authentic in that sense.“

Soundtrack

All tracks of the WHOLETRAIN ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK were produced by FLORIAN GAAG, who worked with legendary Hip-Hop greats such as KRS-ONE, FREDDIE FOXXX, O.C., PLANET ASIA, AFU-RA, GRAND AGENT, TAME ONE, AKROBATIK and EL DA SENSEI.

Cuts by: ROGER REKLESS

The Soundtrack was originally released in 2007 on CD/Vinyl and was distributed by Groove Attack / Believe.

PLAYLIST

01. WHOLETRAIN – KRS One & El Da Sensei
02. CRAZY VISIONS – Grand Agent
03. MY CRAFT – O.C.
04. SLOW BURNA – Akrobatik
05. DO YOU WANT IT – Afu-Ra
06. WHOLECAR – feat. Roger Rekless
07. MY NAME – Planet Asia
08. THIS IS WHAT I DO – Akrobatik
09. INFAMOUS – Reef The Lost Cauze
10. STAYIN´ UP – El Da Sensei
11. GRAFFIC TRAFFIC – Tame One

Gallery

Awards & Festivals

AWARDS

2009 – Grimme Award in three categories
Screenplay & Direction (Florian Gaag), Cinematography (Christian Rein), Editing (Kai Schröter)

2007 – Kiev International Film Festival Molodist
„Best Feature Film“ & „Audience Award“

2006 – Urban World Vibe Film Festival New York
“Best Narrative Feature Film”

see complete list here
2006 – Berlinale / Berlin International Film Festival – Special Mention “Dialogue En Perspective
2006 – Cologne Conference – “Best Feature Film
2006 – Sarajevo International Film Festival – “Best Youth Film”
2006 – Exground Film Fest – “Best Narrative Feature for a Young Audienc
2006 – Starter Film Award – City of Munich
2007 – Boston International Film Festival – “Best Narrative Feature Film”
2007 – Hip-Hop Odyssey International Film Festival New York – “Best Narrative Feature Film”
2007 - German Camera Award – “Editing” (Kai Schröter)

NOMINATIONS

2006 – CAMERIMAGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL –
„Best European Feature Film“ (Screenplay & Direction: Florian Gaag;
Cinematography: Christian Rein)

2006 – GERMAN FILM AWARDS –
“Best Sound Design” (Marc Parisotto, Jörg Elsner, Christian Bischoff);
Prenominations in six categories („Best Film“, „Best Editing“, „Best Set Design“,
„Best Music/Score“, „Best Sound Design“, „Best Costume Design“)

2007 – FILM+
– „Best Editing“ (Kai Schröter)

FESTIVALS

WHOLETRAIN celebrated its German premiere at the Berlinale / Berlin International Film Festival 2006 and had a successful international festival run with screenings at more than 40 film festivals.

see complete list here
2009 – BANFF World Television – Canada
2009 – Festival Augenblick – Strasbourg – France
2009 – Les Enfants dé Cinema – France
2009 – Best of Input - Accra, Ghana – Africa
2008 – Scanorama – Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipeda – Lithuania
2008 – Best of Input Poland – Warsaw – Poland
2008 – Best of Input Brazil – Porto Alegre – Brazil
2008 – Input Johannesburg – South Africa
2007 – Bursa International Silk Road Film Festival (in competition) – Turke
2007 – Asheville Film Festival – USA
2007 – Sao Paulo International Film Festival – Brazil
2007 – Kiev International Film Festival Molodist („Best Feature Film & Audience Award“) – Kiev – Ukraine
2007 – Indie World Film Festival – Belo Horizonte – Brazil
2007 – New Orleans Film Festival – USA
2007 – Ciné-Jeune de lÁisne International Film Festival (in competition) – France
2007 – Black Filmmaker Magazine International Film Festival – London – UK
2007 – HipHop Odyssey International Film Festival (“Best Narrative Feature”) – New York – USA
2007 – Boston International Film Festival (“Best Narrative Feature”) – USA
2007 – Zlin International Film Festival for Children and Youth – Czech Republi
2007 – Jeonju International Film Festival – South-Korea
2007 – Philadelphia International Film Festival – USA
2007 – RiverRun International Film Festival – Winston-Salem – USA
2007 – WorldFest Houston International Film Festival (“Silver Remi Award“) – USA
2007 – Crossing Europe Film Festival – Linz – Austria
2007 – Bradford International Film Festival – UK
2007 – Berlin & Beyond Film Festival - San Francisco – USA
2007 – Festival of New Films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland – Washington DC – USA
2007 – German Youth Film & TV Festival „Goldener Spatz“ - Germany
2006 – Gijon International Film Festival – Spain
2006 – International Film Weekend Würzburg (“2nd Audience Award“) - Germany
2006 – Camerimage International Film Festival (nominated for “Best European Feature Film“) – Lodz – Poland
2006 – Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival – Estonia
2006 – Exground Film Fest (“Best Narrative Feature for a Young Audience“) – Wiesbaden – Germany
2006 – Cologne Conference, (“Best Narrative Feature“) – Germany
2006 – Black Soil International Hip-Hop Film Festival – Amsterdam & Rotterdam - Netherlands
2006 – Helsinki International Film Festival – Finland
2006 – Sarajevo International Film Festival (“Best Narrative Feature for a Young Audience“) – Bosnia and Herzegovina
2006 – Durban International Film Festival – South Africa
2006 – Urban World Vibe Film Festival (“Best Narrative Feature“) – New York – USA
2006 – Lola Film Festival of Films (Nominees for the “German Film Award“)
2006 – Salerno International Film Festival (in competition) – Italy
2006 – Berlin International Film Festival (Special Mention "Dialogue En Perspective") – Germany

Cast & Crew

Florian Gaag

Florian Gaag was born in 1971 in Germany. He lives in Munich and works as a screenwriter, director, musician and producer. He was active as a graffiti writer from 1984 until the early 1990s. Between 1995 and 2000 he studied film at New York University / Tisch School of the Arts. WHOLETRAIN was his feature film debut. His most recent work is a six-part dramedy series about the origins of German Hip-Hop for Warner TV entitled ALMOST FLY. The series was launched on SKY Germany in 2022 and internationally on HBO Max in the USA and 65 other territories. ALMOST FLY is currently available on NETFLIX.

CAST

MIKE ADLER / DAVID
FLORIAN RENNER / TINO
ELYAS M'BAREK / ELYAS
JACOB MATSCHENZ / ACHIM

CREW

Cinematography / Christian Rein
Production Design / Heike Lange
Editing / Kai Schröter
Music / Florian Gaag

Aerosol ARTISTS

CEMNOZ
NEON
WON ABC
CIEL
PURE TFP
MONS

see complete content her
PRICIPAL CAST
David
Mike Adler
Elyas
Elyas M´Barek (in his first major role)
Tino
Florian Renner
Achim
Jacob Matschenz
CAST
Müller
Vincenzo Rosso
Alex
Friederike Kempter
Dina
Kristina Karst
Cop Steinbauer
Alexander Held
Cop Gruber
atrick von Blume
Kong
David Mayonga
Mother Tino
Karina Fallenstein
TEAM
Screenplay, Direction, Music
Florian Gaag
Producers
Christoph Müller, Sven Burgemeister
Supervising Producer
Silke Bacher
Editorial Department
Christian Cloos, ZDF – Das Kleine Fernsehspiel
Co-Producers
Fidelis Mager, Franz X. Gernstl – Megaherz Film
Piotr Mularuk – Yeti Films
Florian Gaag – Aerodynamic Films
Line Producer
Dieter Horres
Production Manager
Patty Saffeels
Cinematography
Christian Rein
Production Design
Heike Lange
Editing
Kai Schröter
Costume Design
Stefanie Schroeter
Production Sound Mixer
Marc Parisotto
Additional Music
JJ Whitefield, Markus Klammer, Jörg Elsner
Casting
Sandra Stein, Weldy & Seibicke, Heyroth & Rietz, Rita Serra Roll
Mixing
Christian Bischoff
Sound Design
Jörg Elsner
Aerosol Writing
Alexej „Neon“ Tursan, David „Cemnoz“ Kamerer, Markus „Won“Müller, Benedikt „Ciel“ Gahl, Veit „Mons“ Kowald

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WHOLETRAIN DVD
Subtitles in 14 languages
ORIGINAL
SOUNDTRACK
& MOVIEPOSTER

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