Polish Oscar-nominated filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, known for her critically acclaimed body of work, has returned to the Czech Republic, a country with which she has personal and professional ties. Holland, who studied directing at FAMU and speaks fluent Czech, was recently awarded the Medal of Merit 1st Class by Czech president Petr Pavel for her contributions to culture. This was not her only visit to the Czech Republic in 2024, as she also had professional commitments there earlier in the year shooting her forthcoming film, Franz.

Holland’s new project explores the life and work of Franz Kafka. Despite Kafka’s relatively short life, his writings have profoundly impacted literature, philosophy, and other art forms. The film delves into Kafka’s personal and literary journey, focusing on his inner struggles, family relationships, and creative process. Set in Prague, Kafka’s birthplace, and Berlin, where he spent significant periods of time, the production coincided with the centenary of Kafka’s death.

Holland’s connection to the Czech Republic dates back to the 1960s, when political circumstances in Poland prevented her from pursuing university studies there. She moved to Prague to study directing at FAMU, becoming part of the circle of filmmakers who shaped the Czechoslovak New Wave. During this time, she witnessed the optimism of 1968 as well as the Soviet invasion, becoming involved in the student movement and experiencing six weeks of imprisonment in Ruzyně. Professionally, her ties to the Czech Republic have continued into the present, with projects such as Janosik: The True Story (2009), the miniseries Burning Bush (2013), and the films Charlatan (2020) and Green Border (2023).

Holland’s recent projects have all been in collaboration with Czech producer Šárka Cimbalová of Marlene Film Production, who is also producing Franz. Their partnership has been highly productive: Charlatan was selected for prominent European coproduction markets, including the Berlinale Co-Production Market. The film gained international recognition, earning multiple awards at festivals, being shortlisted for the 2021 Academy Award for Best International Feature, and winning four Czech Lions, including Best Film of 2020, from 14 nominations.

Their subsequent collaboration, Green Border, won the Special Jury Prize in Venice and received nominations at the European Film Awards for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, alongside other international honors. The film became Poland’s highest-grossing domestic production, winning a Czech Lion for Outstanding Audiovisual Achievement and the Best Film award at Poland’s Film Academy Awards. It has been widely distributed across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Building on this success, their joint effort on Franz is a natural progression of their creative partnership.

The enigma of Kafka

Holland has a history of portraying historical figures in her films, as seen in Copying Beethoven (2006) and In Darkness (2011). These works reflect her approach to blending historical accuracy with creative interpretation, offering nuanced portrayals of complex individuals. Kafka, one of the 20th century’s most influential writers, provides fertile ground for such an approach. His seminal works—The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and The Castle—examine themes of alienation, bureaucracy, and existential dread. His distinctive style, marked by surreal, absurd, and nightmarish elements, has become a touchstone for literary exploration of the human condition.

Kafka’s enduring global appeal lies in his depiction of individuals’ powerlessness in the face of opaque systems and absurd realities. His characters, trapped in bureaucratic mazes or subjected to surreal transformations, resonate across cultures as they reflect universal struggles. While scholars and writers have extensively studied his works and personal life, much of Kafka’s inner world remains enigmatic, adding to his mystique.

Holland has disclosed that her film will not follow the conventions of a traditional biopic. Instead, it will blend aspects of Kafka’s life, dreams, and literary motifs to encapsulate his unique worldview. “I would like to tackle the film as a sort of collage of scenes and stories from the life and books of Franz,” Holland explained. She further described the project as “a whimsical fictional docudrama, in which nothing is impossible.”

Cimbalová elaborated on the film’s unconventional approach. “Kafka is perhaps the only author in the world about whom more has been written regarding his private life and personal experiences than about his work. He was a sensitive individual, an outlier in his era, akin to a man of the third millennium. Today, we stand a much better chance of understanding him than his contemporaries did a hundred years ago. We aim to carefully piece together fragments of his life, striving to create a mosaic that transcends his life and delves into his persona,” the producer said.

The screenplay for Franz was penned by Marek Epstein, who also wrote the script for Charlatan. The story adopts a vignette structure, dramatizing Kafka’s life from 19th-century Prague to his death in Berlin after World War I. It also incorporates a broader temporal scope, jumping forward to explore the fate of Kafka’s sister—whose death he eerily predicted—and modern-day Prague, where Kafka’s legacy remains influential. According to the producers, this layered structure underscores the enduring relevance of Kafka’s work.

Holland has emphasized that Franz breaks with traditional period-film conventions, creating a narrative that transcends historical boundaries and extends into the present. To capture the essence of Kafka, who famously instructed that his works be destroyed after his death, the film aims to assemble fragments of his past and literary output into what the director describes as “a dazzling kaleidoscopic mosaic.” This mosaic, she notes, will not only offer a comprehensive view of Kafka’s imagination but also bridge the gap between his era and contemporary times.

Reflecting on Kafka’s legacy, Holland remarked, “Communist Czechoslovakia slowly and timidly began to return to his work in the mid-1960s, but then, during normalisation, his legacy was forgotten. That was until Kafka became a commercial tourist attraction and was memorialised by strange monuments. The fate of his books, his embarrassing loves, the relationship with his father, his failed engagements, his office work, and his tuberculosis are all well-documented in his diaries, letters, and many biographies. We know everything, but the secret of his fate and the influence his literature has on the world has never been fully revealed.”

Finding Kafka

German actor Idan Weiss has been cast in the lead role of Franz Kafka, with Czech actress Jenovéfa Boková (Moments, Tiny Lights) portraying Kafka’s confidante and translator, Milena Jesenská. Experienced German actor Peter Kurth, who also starred in Štěpán Altrichter’s feature debut, Schmitke (2014), plays Kafka’s father, while Polish actress Sandra Korzeniak (Green Border, Leave No Traces) portrays Kafka’s mother, Julia.

Weiss was the third actor presented by the German casting director to the director and the producer, who both immediately agreed on his suitability for the role. They cited his physical resemblance, sensitivity, and a modern sensibility they associate with Kafka. Additionally, they felt that Weiss’s unique perspective on the world aligned with Kafka’s distinctive worldview. The production team anticipates that his portrayal will balance humor and poignancy, encouraging audiences to explore Kafka’s life and work further.

The supporting cast includes Katharina Stark of Dead Girls Dancing (2023) as Kafka’s youngest sister, Ottilie, Carol Schuler as Felice Bauer, and Sebastian Schwarz as Kafka’s close friend, Max Brod. Czech actors in smaller roles include Ivan Trojan, Josef Trojan, and Juraj Loj, who worked with Holland on Charlatan, but also Vladimír Javorský, Karel Dobrý, Stanislav Majer, Emma Smetana, Anita Krausová, Ondřej Malý, Vasil Fridrich, Pavel Šimčík, and Filip Kaňkovský.

In addition to familiar faces in front of the camera, several key crew members from Holland’s earlier projects returned for Franz. Czech editor Pavel Hrdlička, who has worked with Holland since Burning Bush, once again handled editing duties. Makeup artist Gabriela Poláková, nominated for Czech Lion and Polish Film Awards for her work on Charlatan, also rejoined the team.

Polish cinematographer Tomasz Naumiuk, who lensed Green Border and Mr. Jones, served as the director of cinematography. Czech costume designer Michaela Horáčková Hořejší created the costumes, while set designer Henrich Boráros, who also worked on the first Czech Canal+ original production The Daughter of Nation (2024), was responsible for the production design.

Czech collaborative synergy

Holland emphasized the advantages of working with a trusted team, noting that familiarity simplifies communication and enhances creativity. “Working with people you already know makes communication easier—you don’t have to discover each other. You know your goals, your weaknesses, and where you can take risks or need to be more cautious,” she explained. She praised her team as “very talented individuals with strong character and fantastic humanity.”

Holland also highlighted her ongoing collaboration with Cimbalová. She attributed their successful partnership to mutual respect and trust. “I value Šárka for her courage, imagination, and the trust she has shown me. Working with her feels natural because she brings a sense of safety that allows me to create with freedom,” Holland said. She also stressed the producer’s broader role, explaining, “A producer isn’t just about finding money; it’s about assembling a great team. When that happens, I feel understood, which is essential for creative freedom—even within the constraints of time and budget.”

The production of Franz took place over 40 days, from April to May 2024, with filming locations in both the Czech Republic and Germany. In Prague, scenes were shot at iconic locations such as Charles Bridge, Golden Lane, Legion Bridge, the Main Railway Station, Malá Strana, Střelecký Island, Vyšehrad, and the Faculty of Law. Beyond Prague, the team filmed in Terezín, a functionalist villa in Hýskov, and other locations, including Homolák and Vyžlovka. In Germany, key scenes were filmed at Großfunkstelle Nauen, Museum Charité, Marquart, and Kodak Berlin.

Holland reflected on the challenges of portraying Kafka’s world in modern Prague, noting the city’s transformation over time. “If I had decided to make a film about Kafka or an adaptation of his work when I first came to Prague in the mid-to-late 1960s, it would have been much easier. Prague looked so much more like the Kafkaesque vision we imagine,” she said. The selection of historical and atmospheric locations played a critical role in capturing the visual and emotional essence of Kafka’s life and works.

The production is a collaborative European effort. In addition to Cimbalová and Holland producing for Marlene Film Production, the film’s coproducers include Uwe Schott and Jorgo Narjes of Germany’s X-Filme, and Marcin Wierzchosławski and Alicja Jagodzińska Kalkus of Poland’s Metro Films. The executive producers are Mike Downey, Kevan van Thompson, Daniel Bergman, and Jeff Fields. Other production partners include Barrandov Studio, Polish Television, Czech Television, Canal+, Czech Anglo Production, and CertiCon, with additional backing from David Grumbach and Alexis Hofmann via Bac Films. The project received funding from the Czech Audiovisual Fund (both selective support and a production incentive) and Eurimages, as well as support from the Prague Audiovisual Fund, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Polish Film Institute, ZDF/ARTE, Canal+ Poland, DFFF, and Pilsen Region. Distributors are confirmed in both Czech Republic and Poland, with AQS for the first, and Kino Swiat for the second.

Films Boutique, which previously handled international rights for Green Border and Charlatan, is managing the international rights to Franz. Even before the production began, the film was acquired for theatrical distribution in France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Additional territories, including Benelux, Spain, Hungary, the former Yugoslavia, and Italy, have also secured distribution rights. The film is expected to be ready in spring 2025.