17/11/2011

Dutch director Jos Stelling (pictured) has started filming on his latest production, The Girl and Death. The film is a Dutch-German-Russian co-production.

The original screenplay, written by the director and editor Bert Rijkelijkhuizen, tells the story of an old Russian doctor, Nicolai (Sergey Makovetskyi), who, in the 1950s, returns to the place where, 50 years earlier, he encountered the love of his life, Elise.

Elise will be played by Dutch star Sylvia Hoeks, who can currently be seen on TV in the period crime drama The Gang of Oss. Hoeks also starred in the title role in Stelling’s previous feature, Duska, which co-starred Makovetskyi.

The third main role, that of the young Nicolai, will be played by Russian actor Leonid Bichevin, most famous for his roles in Alexei Balebanov’s films.

Stelling regulars Jim van der Woude and Henri Garcin are also part of the cast that further includes German as well as Russian actors.

A large part of the action takes place in a hotel and sanatorium in Tannenfeld, former East Germany, where most of the filming will also be done. The shoot started on November 7 and will continue through December 20.

Goert Giltay is the film’s director of photography, while production design is in the hands of Gert Brinkers.

Jos Stelling Films is the Dutch production company behind the film that will be distributed locally in 2012 by Benelux Film Distributors and Inspire Pictures. German production is assured by Ma.ja.de. Fiction.