The Match Factory has picked up international distribution for Neele Leana Vollmar's second feature Friedliche Zeiten (literal translation: Peaceful Times) which has begun shooting in Munich and surroundings.
The tragicomedy, based on Birgit Vanderbeke's 1996 novel of the same name, is being produced by Vollmar and Caroline Daube's joint production company Royal Pony Film with broadcasters BR/Arte and Odeon Pictures, Lunaris Film- und Fernsehproduktion and Berlin-based Neue Kinowelt Filmproduktion as co-producers. Backing has come from the German Federal Film Board (FFA), FFF Bayern and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF). Kinowelt will release the film theatrically in Germany next year.
Speaking to ScreenDaily.com, The Match Factory's Michael Weber explained that the decision to pick up the film had been made on the strength of Ruth Toma's screenplay: 'this was the same way we proceeded with Emma's Bliss and Reclaim Your Brain by coming onboard on script basis. The story is very universal and it was fun to read. It reminded me emotionally of Mostly Martha, and I found it interesting to see a story set in Germany of the 1960s because there hasn't been much made about this period in the past ten years or so.'
Vollmar, whose previous feature was the award-winning Vacation From Life (Urlaub Vom Leben), about a family who move from East Germany to West Germany and face turbulent times until the children try to take matters into their own hands.
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