On Thursday, the mountain doctor was concerned about a patient who had been involved in a tragic accident. Were you familiar with the actress's face?
The current “Bergdoktor” season is slowly coming to an end. The seventh of eight episodes aired on television on Thursday evening. In the episode “Order to Tear”, forester Kim Sattler was involved in a tragic accident while working in the forest. One of their employees was killed in the accident. Kim Sattler was initially blamed for the death.
Did the actress look familiar? The role of the forester was played by Isabell Polak – and she is no longer unknown in the film industry. The then 26-year-old flickered across screens for the first time in the mid-2000s. From 2007 to 2013 she appeared in front of the camera for the comedy series “Bad Girls”. The starting signal of her career.
Isabell Polak was offered one role after another. The actress was mainly booked for comedies. For example, she shot for “Doctor's Diary”, “Rubbeldiekatz” and “Knallerkerle”. From 2010 to 2011 she was also seen in “Schillerstrasse” for several episodes. In 2016 she won the German Comedy Prize in the Best Sketch Show category with “Sketch History”.
She also appeared in crime films: Isabell Polak has “Marie Brand”, “Tatort” and several episodes of “Wilsberg” in her CV. The now 42-year-old has been taking on the role of Kerstin Buckebrede since 2016. She plays Ekki's (Oliver Korittke) girlfriend. However, the actress has not been seen in the crime series since 2022.
Isabell Polak then starred in films such as “You Don't Shoot with Harpoons” and “My Father, the Donkey and I”. She also flickered across the screens in 2023 with the miniseries “The Girl on the Beach”. A few days ago, the documentary “Against Silence – Abuse of Power in Theater and Film” was published in the ARD media library. Isabell Polak also has her say in it.
Abuse of power in theater and film
In the film, those affected speak of insults, humiliation, violence and sexual assault in the acting industry. “The world behind the camera and the scenes can be a nightmare for many theater and film professionals,” says the film description. The “Bergdoktor” actress also had such an experience.
In the mid-2000s, a director invited her to his home for a casting. “I was supposed to play a pharmacist in a film,” she remembers. “I went into his apartment, we did that, he gave me a coat.” Then they played the scene over and over again. With the camera he got closer every time. “That was just unpleasant.”
“And I always in my pharmacist's coat. At some point we got through it. Then he said: 'You're welcome to sleep here because the S-Bahn doesn't run anymore. It's already so late. You can here Sleep, nothing will happen, you sleep in my bed.'” Isabell Polak came up with an excuse and left.
“Then I just ran out of this apartment and went to the S-Bahn station and then sat there for several hours and waited for the S-Bahn. I was incredibly ashamed and thought: 'How stupid have I been? I was really ashamed. […] He will never occupy me after that action, the way I ran out there and slammed the door behind me.'”
“I still find it unbearable”
This is just one example of many. Isabell Polak does not mention who the man was. But from what she heard, he would still do it that way today, 20 years later. “I still find it unbearable to see this guy at almost every media industry event, especially since – and this is the craziest thing about it – he hasn't made a single film yet.”
But that wasn't the only incident. “This story didn't shape my professional life. What shaped me were the experiences with directors who tried to systematically finish me off over weeks and months. Simply because they were up for it.” The documentary “Against Silence – Abuse of Power in Theater and Film” is available in the ARD media library and will be shown on NDR television on March 11th from 10 p.m.
