21/04/2010

Düsseldorf-born television director Isabel Kleefeld (44), who won acclaim in 2005 for her TV drama The Ghost of Canterville, is currently preparing her debut big-screen feature – after working as assistant director for prestigious German filmmakers including Detlev Buck (Jailbirds in 1996), Sönke Wortmann (Campus in 1998) and Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Experiment in 2001).

The director has adapted her project, entitled Ruhm ("Fame"), from the eponymous novel by talented young German-Austrian author Daniel Kehlmann (who garnered international acclaim for Measuring the World).

The book, sub-titled A Novel in Nine Episodes, blends and entwines many variations on the notion of fame, blurring the boundaries between reality and illusion. A nameless man receives phone calls intended for someone else and ends up pretending to be that person, while a female character rebels against her author...

Senta Berger and Heino Ferch are so far two of the names confirmed for this ensemble film that requires a large cast. The director will also team up again with DoP Rainer Klausmann (Fatih Akin’s regular collaborator, who has lensed many other internationally-acclaimed films, including Lemon Tree [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and The Baader Meinhof Complex [+see also:
trailer
film profile]).

Ruhm, whose main shoot will take place in North Rhine-Westphalia in September, with a few scenes in Switzerland and Argentina, is a co-production between all the German-speaking countries: Germany via Cologne-based Little Shark Entertainment and Terz Film, Austria via Dor Film and Switzerland via Hugofilms.

The film, which is also backed by WDR, Degeto and Arte, will be released in Germany by Pandora.

(Translated from French)