Agnieszka Holland's Franz Kafka docu-drama sets production date

Agnieszka Holland is reuniting with Czech producer Šárka Cimbalová for the Franz Kafka biopic Franz.

The pair worked together on 2020's Charlatan and this year's Green Border, which topped Polish box offices despite the political backlash from the country’s right-wing government.

Franz will film in the Czech Republic and Germany over 40 days starting in April 2024. It is currently in pre-production at Marlene Film Production.

“I would like to think of the film as a kind of collage of scenes and stories from the life and books of Franz. We are building the floor plan of a dissolute fictional docu-drama in which nothing is impossible.”

The screenplay is by Marek Epstein based on the story he co-wrote with Mike Downey. Co-producers to Holland and Cimbalová are X-FILME's Uwe Schott and Jorgo Narjes, Metro films' Marcin Wierzchoslawski, and Bac Films' David Grumbach and Alexis Hofmann. Executive producers are Mike Downey, Daniel Bergmann, Kevan Van Thompson.

Franz will be presented at the upcoming Berlinale Co-Production Market.