After the great success of Peter Sehr´s cinema epic Kaspar Hauser both at home and internationally, Wolfgang Esterer from Multimedia München has produced another lavish feature film with the same director, an international co production between Germany and France: OBSESSION. The project has been financed by the FFA, the FILMBOARD BERLIN BRANDENBURG, FILMFERNSEHFOND BAYERN and the BMI. It is produced in collaboration with HIGH SPEED FILMS Paris, HOLLYWOOD PARTNERS Munih and BAYERISCHER RUNDFUNK.

Peter Sehr wrote the screenplay with Marie Noëlle, and after a long finance phase and extensive casting session in Berlin, Paris, London and New York, the first scene of the film was finally shot on 1st July 1996. The English Director of Photography David Watkin, who was awarded an Oscar for Out of Africa and nominated for Oscars for both Chariots of Fire and Catch 22, has bestowed on the film a visual and aesthetic splendour.

And Peter Sehr managed to spring another surprise when he cast the film. He was able to engage a cast comprising internationally famous actors, but special mention must be made of the German leading lady, Heike Makatsch, who has moved on to more serious roles after her sensational cinema hit Männerpension. She plays opposite the French shooting star Charles Berling, now attracting attention all over Europe with Patrice Leconte´s Ridicule, and the English actor Daniel Craig, who is famous from popular TV series and is now on the threshold of a great career in the cinema. Making up the international members of the cast are Marie-Christine Barrault, Seymore Cassel and Allen Garfield, while the German actors include Inga Busch, Heinz Werner Kraehkamp and Peter Lohmeyer.

The world famous TRABER FAMILY from Berlin, who can trace their family of circus performers back to 1611, agreed to apply their traditional skills on the high wire in the production of the film, and Matthias Traber takes the part of the tight rope artist.

Micki Meuser, the composer and producer from Cologne who worked with IDEAL and DIE ÄRZTE, has taken charge of music production. He formed a new band calles BERLIN UNITED for the occasion, and they play live during the film. To coincide with the film´s opening a video will be released, as well as a sound-track CD with the voice of Heike Makatsch on several numbers, including Duette with Dirk B. Felsenheimer (alias Bela B.). The CD is released exclusively by Sony Music. Initially Sony is releasing a single CD entitled This Girl Was Made For Loving. The book of the film is published by Bastei Lübbe.

Shooting took place over a period of 11 weeks, at locations in Berlin, Leipzig, Munih, Havelberg, Semur-en-Auxois, Dijon, Paris and the Niagara Falls.