A conversation about their involvement in the film “Branch Office”, pathos and what they would like to see happen
They call themselves the kings of Italian hits – and have long since built up their own universe. Now comes their next coup: Roy Bianco & The Abbrunzati Boys are moving their cult from the stage to the cinema: they provide the soundtrack and cameos for the film “Branche” – and the appropriate pathos for what follows. We met her for an interview.
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Dolce Vita meets administrative act
A car, an accident, four friends – and suddenly they find themselves at the counter of a Bavarian afterlife authority. What can it be: Elysium, Purgatory, rebirth? Or nothing – if you don’t believe in anything. This is where Julius Grimm’s film debut begins: In “Branche” (released in theaters October 9, 2025), the clique has to fight its way through a Kafkaesque bureaucratic hell before entering heaven. Mountains of files, questionnaires and leisurely, pedantic clerks set the pace while the friends desperately search for a way out – and at the same time are confronted with their own lack of faith. Because they quickly notice: If you don’t believe in anything, you’ll have a problem in the afterlife.
With this comedy, Grimm asks the age-old question anew: What awaits us after death? In his (perfidious) fantasy: German bureaucratic madness, at least supported by a strong ensemble (including Rick Kavanian, Rainer Bock, Luise Kinseher, Maxi Schafroth).
After a fatal accident in the Alps, four friends find themselves in the entrance hall of the Beyond Authority Southern Germany branch. Behind a counter sits a single official who – when she is not taking a coffee break – kindly asks to take a number before the souls can be forwarded. But the real surprise awaits above the heads of the newly deceased: the finest Italian hits can be heard on a wooden balustrade. Roy Bianco & The Abbrunzati Boys are up there – and welcome the clique with a performance somewhere between a sacred welcome and a surreal fever dream.
Who should musically greet the band at this threshold? “Udo Jürgens on the piano – that would be a dream,” says Roy. “Or something completely new: divine music that we have never heard before.” It’s also clear what they don’t want: “Mallorca plastic hits. Or free jazz,” Zanti interjects. “I would immediately drop dead a second time.”
Gate of heaven with kitsch and cult
The request came in the fall, says the band. In February they were on set – as themselves (named in the credits as “Band”)but again as figures of their own myth. “We didn’t have to think about it for long,” says Roy. “Bavarian comedies with themes of the afterlife are a genre of their own. ‘Those who die earlier are dead longer’ or ‘A Bavarian in Heaven’ – these are powerful titles. We immediately felt at home there.”
The shoot was still a new experience for the musicians. “In the music video you have to tell everything in four minutes – something can develop in the film. We were more of a nice background, but it was still fun,” says Zanti. There were no lines of text, but one scene stuck: “When we had to sympathize with a paramedic, we cried at the push of a button. Of course I thought of our band breaking up in 1997,” says Roy, laughing. “It was really heartbreaking.”
Roy Bianco & The Abbrunzati Boys have long since made their Italo hit a cult. Julius Grimm now gives them a new stage – between the bureaucracy of death and the dolce vita. “We are very grateful to be part of this film,” said Roy. “It works fantastically even without us, but we were happy to enrich it with some music and myth.” There is always speculation as to how much of this band is real and how much is staged. “Of course we are ourselves, but we enjoy it when people continue to write our story. That’s how art works,” explains Roy.
The musicians didn’t compose anything new for the film – but it wasn’t needed either. With “Weiße Rosen” from their album KULT, which was released in 2024, Roy Bianco & The Abbrunzati Boys already had a song that thematically fits like a glove. “When the final curtain falls, we go our separate ways. Final greetings to the world. It should rain white roses for you, hold them until we see you again,” they sing. Melancholy, nostalgia, great emotions – and a pinch of humor. “I think we have found the perfect film song for the theme of the film,” reports Zanti.
In the film “Branch Office” the protagonists sit opposite two older, sedate clerks who go through questionnaires and decide on the fate of the deceased. As a highlight, the four friends are allowed to enter a lottery pot at the end of the question marathon. Whoever draws the lucky ticket has one last wish. “I would like to have a wish machine so that everyone present can still have a wish,” says Zanti. Roy goes one better: “I wish for peace on earth. Hallelujah!”
In the end, the tone remains that Roy Bianco & The Abbrunzati Boys have always struck: a bit of pathos, a pinch of humor – and a bouquet of white roses.