The film, written by Holland and Marek Epstein, explores Kafka’s life in a mosaic form, from his birth in late 19th century Prague to his death in Austria in 1924.
German actor Idan Weiss stars as Franz Kafka, alongside Czech actress Jenovéfa Boková as Milena Jesenská, Kafka’s muse. The cast also includes Ivan Trojan, Josef Trojan, Karel Dobrý and Stanislav Majer.
Šárka Cimbalová and Agnieszka Holland are producing through Czech Marlene Film Production in coproduction with Marcin Wierzchoslawski through Polish Metro Films, Uwe Schott and Jorgo Narjes through GermanX-FILME, David Grumbach and Alexis Hofmann through French Bac Films, as well as the Czech Television, Barrandov Studio and Czech Anglo Production.
Mike Downey, Daniel Bergmann and Kevan Van Thompson are executive producers.
The project has been backed by the Czech Film Fund (with 871,000 EUR), the Prague Audiovisual Fund (with 119,000 EUR), Eurimages (with 500,000 EUR) and the Czech Region of Pilsen.
Tomasz Naumiuk is the DoP.
Agnieszka Holland has a personal connection to Kafka's work. She emphasised Kafka's significance as a writer and his influence on her perception of Prague, where she studied at FAMU.
The release date of the film is yet to be announced.
Production Information:
Producer:
Marlene Film Production (Czech Republic)
Šárka Cimbalová: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Coproducers:
Metro Films (Poland)
X-FILME (Germany)
Executive producers : Mike Downey, Kevan van Thompson, Daniel Bergmann
Czech coproducers:
Czech Television (Czech Republic)
Barrandov Studio (Czech Republic)
Czech Anglo Production (Czech Republic)
Credits:
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Scriptwriters: Marek Epstein, Agnieszka Holland,
DoP: Tomasz Naumiuk
Editor: Pavel Hrdlička
Make-up artist: Gabriela Poláková
Set designer: Henry Borarosz
Costume designer: Michaela Hořejší
Cast: Idan Weiss, Jenovéfa Boková, Ivan Trojan, Peter Kurth, Katharina Stark,Josef Trojan, Vladimír Javorský, Karel Dobrý, Stanislav Majer, Juraj Loj, Ondřej Malý, Anita Krausová, Emma Smetana, Jan Budař, Tomáš Dalecký, Michal Isteník, Vasil Fridrich, Pavel Šimčík, Filip Kaňovský, Sandra Korzeniak, Sebastian Schwarz, Gesa Schermuly, Štěpán Klán
