Entitled Franz, Holland’s film is based on the life of Franz Kafka, a German-speaking Bohemian Jewish writer, famous for such works as The Trial, The Castle and The Metamorphosis.
The project, currently in pre-production, received EUR 500,000 from Eurimages.
The script, written by Holland and Marek Epstein, covers the writer’s life starting with his birth in 19th-century Prague through to his death in Berlin in 1924 at the age of 40.
The eponymous character is played by Idan Weiss.
Cinematography is in the hands of Poland’s Tomasz Naumiuk, who worked with Holland on The Green Border and Mr. Jones.
Shooting is to begin in the Czech Republic and Germany next month.
Holland’s credits also include In Darkness; Europa, Europa; A Secret Garden; Washington Square; The Third Miracle; To Kill a Priest; Total Eclipse; and Copying Beethoven.
(mk)