The Dream of
Sabine Niederberghaus-Lesavoy
Biography and Mission Statement
Having been born and raised in Germany, I became a Karl May fan at a very young age.
Between the years of 1962-1969, some movies based on the classic German novels of Karl May were produced, and they became the most successful, theatrically-released feature films in the history of German movie making. These films inspired a huge number of young people from all over the world to visit the American Wild West. More and more children started to read books about the Wild West, and many even took up horseback riding. With all of this, Karl May created a new generation of the young German cowboys and Indians. I was one of those children.
My father owned a little horse ranch in Germany, which was only a five-minute bike ride away from our house. Everyday after school and after completion of homework, we would get on our bikes and take our friends to be with our ponies playing Cowboys and Indians in the German forests - what a way to grow up! I am still very thankful to my parents for having given their children such vast possibilities.
Then, it was time to grow up. I decided that after completion of high school, I wanted to see the world and left my family in order to live in Africa, namely Kenya. I was just 19 years old when I moved to the African east coast.
At the age of 27, I decided to move back to Europe as education was calling. I pursued European Business Studies in Germany and finalized my studies in the U.S. In 1994 I moved to California.
One morning, during a visit of my nephew Kai Wiens from Germany, we went for a ride into the mountains around our ranch in Topanga California. Suddenly, Kai said to me, Sabine, when are you going to fulfill your dream and finally create the new Karl May movies? Kai was my inspiration to do what I had dreamt of all my life, being the creator of new "Winnetou" movies in order to continue the legend in Europe and to introduce Karl May's stories to the few countries which Karl May had not yet been able to touch.
I immediately started researching who owned the international film rights to all WINNETOU and SHATTERHAND stories written by Karl May.
My long-awaited response came from the Karl-May-Verlag in Bamberg, Germany. Finally, we did exchange information and started talking on the phone; then, I went to Germany to introduce myself, and I was able to gain their trust. During the first few years of my efforts in creating a new Karl May movie, I became the official U.S. representative to the publishing house in Germany. Subsequently, I was able to get their approval to register the trademarks in the U.S. under my name.
My next goal is to create a series of feature films.
My Karl May project has been my passion for over 10 years so far. And as the famous and popular director /producer Roland Emmerich encouragingly said:
"Sabine, my first big project took me 10 years and this was "Independence Day". You have just started with the project, and you need to understand that quality projects take quality time, and you will need many years to realize your dream. The main issue here is to never give up!"
Topanga Ranch California
KARL MAY
Winnetou TM
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