German actress Julia Jentsch, the star of Malgoska Szumowska's Locarno competition film 33 Scenes From Life, is to appear with Monica Bleibtreu in Swiss director Bettina Oberli's next feature The Murder Farm (Tannöd), which begins shooting in the Sauerland and Eifel regions of Germany from September.

The $5.6m (Euros 3.8m) co-production between Wüste Film West and Constantin Film with Zurich-based Hugofilm Productions is based on Andrea Maria Schenkel's novel about the gruesome murder of a whole family in a rural community.

Backing for the project has come from Filmstiftung NRW, Swiss broadcaster SF, the Federal Office for Culture (BAK) and the Zurich Film Foundation. Constantin Film will release theatrically in Germany.

Oberli had domestic box office success last year with her comedy Late Bloomers (Die Herbstzeitlosen) which was distributed in Switzerland by Walt Disney and seen by 594,948 cinema-goers, making it the second most successful Swiss film between 1975 and 2007.

33 Scenes producer Raimond Goebel told ScreenDaily.com in Locarno this week that Szumowska's tragicomedy has also been invited to screen at the festivals in Toronto and Pusan. TrustNordisk is handling international sales.

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