Germany's UFA Cinema has unveiled an 11-picture production slate encompassing bestseller adaptations, family entertainment and political cinema, with the first project going before the camera in spring 2009.
The company's executive managers Wolf Bauer, Thomas Peter Friedl, Nico Hofmann and Jürgen Schuster have selected 11 projects from more than 60 in active development:
- Bad Karma (Mieses Karma), a romantic comedy adapted fro m David Safier's bestseller debut novel Berlin, Berlin, which was on the SPIEGEL-bestseller list for 25 weeks.
- Hempel's Sofa, a comedy adapted from Ralf König's comic of the same name, which, more than 10 years after the huge success of Der Bewegte Mann, turns its attention back to the complexities and perplexities between man and woman.
- It Is God's Will (Gott Will Es), a thriller against the backdrop of Islamic terrorist attacks, adapted from Christian Schoenborn's novel of the same name, due out in 2009.
- Jungle Child, a family film adapted from the childhood memories of Sabine Kuegler who moved with her parents to the jungle of Western New Guinea at the age of five, and grew up there until she was seventeen. Jungle Child has sold over a million copies in Germany so far and was translated into 31 languages.
- Marnie's World, 3-D CGI film adapted from the script by brothers Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein who won the Oscar for the best animated short for their first film Balance.
- Midday Lady (Die Mittagsfrau) adapted from Julia Franck's bestseller of the same name.
- St. Claire's (aka Hanni & Nanni), a family project adapted from Enid Blyton's world-famous children's books, in collaboration with Feine Filme.
- The Physician, an international bestseller adaptation of the Noah Gordon novel which sold over 6 million copies in Germany alone and, as recently as 2004, was voted among the 10 most loved books of all time in a major ZDF show.
- The Robbers, a free adaptation of Schiller's play of the same name. Script by Bora Dagtekin, who caused a stir with his much-noticed award-winning scripts for Turkish For Beginners and Where Is Fred'
- The Weekend (Das Wochenende), an adaptation of The Reader author Bernhard Schlink's latest novel about the mental legacy of the Red Army Faction that made a much-noticed contribution to current discussion in society and the press concerning the release from20prison of former RAF terrorists.
- Three Bags Full, a 3-D CGI family thriller based on themes of the international bestseller and sheep detective novel by Leonie Swann.
As UFA Cinema's Friedl noted, 'This first slate clearly illustrates UFA Cinema's future programme profile and how we intend to fulfil our commercial standards in many ways with creative, innovative and sophisticated cinema.'. The first of these projects will be released theatrically in early 2010.
Earlier this year, UFA Cinema served as co-producer with Berlin-based Schiwago Film on Urs Odermatt's George Taboris Mein Kampf with Tom Schilling and Götz George (Screen Daily, March 2008).
The company's executive managers Wolf Bauer, Thomas Peter Friedl, Nico Hofmann and Jürgen Schuster have selected 11 projects from more than 60 in active development:
- Bad Karma (Mieses Karma), a romantic comedy adapted fro m David Safier's bestseller debut novel Berlin, Berlin, which was on the SPIEGEL-bestseller list for 25 weeks.
- Hempel's Sofa, a comedy adapted from Ralf König's comic of the same name, which, more than 10 years after the huge success of Der Bewegte Mann, turns its attention back to the complexities and perplexities between man and woman.
- It Is God's Will (Gott Will Es), a thriller against the backdrop of Islamic terrorist attacks, adapted from Christian Schoenborn's novel of the same name, due out in 2009.
- Jungle Child, a family film adapted from the childhood memories of Sabine Kuegler who moved with her parents to the jungle of Western New Guinea at the age of five, and grew up there until she was seventeen. Jungle Child has sold over a million copies in Germany so far and was translated into 31 languages.
- Marnie's World, 3-D CGI film adapted from the script by brothers Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein who won the Oscar for the best animated short for their first film Balance.
- Midday Lady (Die Mittagsfrau) adapted from Julia Franck's bestseller of the same name.
- St. Claire's (aka Hanni & Nanni), a family project adapted from Enid Blyton's world-famous children's books, in collaboration with Feine Filme.
- The Physician, an international bestseller adaptation of the Noah Gordon novel which sold over 6 million copies in Germany alone and, as recently as 2004, was voted among the 10 most loved books of all time in a major ZDF show.
- The Robbers, a free adaptation of Schiller's play of the same name. Script by Bora Dagtekin, who caused a stir with his much-noticed award-winning scripts for Turkish For Beginners and Where Is Fred'
- The Weekend (Das Wochenende), an adaptation of The Reader author Bernhard Schlink's latest novel about the mental legacy of the Red Army Faction that made a much-noticed contribution to current discussion in society and the press concerning the release from20prison of former RAF terrorists.
- Three Bags Full, a 3-D CGI family thriller based on themes of the international bestseller and sheep detective novel by Leonie Swann.
As UFA Cinema's Friedl noted, 'This first slate clearly illustrates UFA Cinema's future programme profile and how we intend to fulfil our commercial standards in many ways with creative, innovative and sophisticated cinema.'. The first of these projects will be released theatrically in early 2010.
Earlier this year, UFA Cinema served as co-producer with Berlin-based Schiwago Film on Urs Odermatt's George Taboris Mein Kampf with Tom Schilling and Götz George (Screen Daily, March 2008).
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