Acclaimed filmmaker Agnieszka Holland is set to return to historical biography with Berlinweh – Yearning for a Home, an international co-production examining the life of screen icon Marlene Dietrich. The project reunites the director with Czech producer Šárka Cimbalová following their collaborations on Charlatan, Green Border, and the recent Franz.
Produced by Germany’s X Filme Creative Pool alongside Czech production company Marlene Film Production and international partners, the film represents another major European co-production with significant Czech involvement. It continues a collaboration that has become one of the most visible examples of Czech participation in prestige international filmmaking.
A portrait through defining moments
Rather than presenting a conventional cradle-to-grave biography, Berlinweh – Yearning for a Home will focus on four decisive days spanning four decades of Dietrich’s life. The screenplay by Ingo Rasper follows the actress in Paris in 1937, Bergen-Belsen in 1945, Tel Aviv in 1960, and Paris again in 1983, using these moments to explore the personal and political conflicts that shaped her life.
According to the filmmakers, the story centers on Dietrich’s complicated relationship with Germany after she publicly opposed the Nazi regime and spent much of her life in self-imposed exile. While celebrated internationally for her opposition to fascism, she remained a deeply controversial figure in her homeland, where many regarded her as a traitor after she became a U.S. citizen and actively supported Allied forces during World War II.
Holland said the project appealed to her despite her repeated intention to step away from films about famous historical figures.
“Every time I tell myself I won’t make another film about a real, famous person, someone emerges from the past who asks the most important and timely questions, and whose decisions reflect my own choices and anxieties,” the director said.
She described Dietrich as “a bundle of contradictions” — a glamorous star who was also a serious actress, singer, soldier, human rights advocate, and fiercely independent woman whose public confidence often concealed fear and uncertainty.
“We are not telling her life as a continuous linear story,” Holland said. “We are looking for those turning points that reflect what is most important and most universal—what resonates most strongly today in her fate. It is the story of a woman, an artist, a citizen, and a human being.”
The director added that she was pleased to continue working with many of the creative partners who collaborated on Franz, describing that production as “an exciting adventure.”
Continuing a Czech-European creative partnership
The new production builds on an established relationship between Holland and Czech producer Cimbalová, whose previous collaborations have included the Czech Oscar submission Charlatan, the migration drama Green Border, and the biographical feature Franz.
Cimbalová’s Marlene Film Production joins Germany’s X Filme Creative Pool as one of the principal producers on the project. British-Irish producer Mike Downey, French producer Jean-Christophe Simon, and their partners also serve as producers, while Films Boutique will handle international sales.
Cimbalová and Downey said the success of their previous collaborations made another partnership with Holland a natural next step.
They described the screenplay as offering a nuanced examination of one of the 20th century’s most compelling public figures, exploring Dietrich’s uncompromising independence, commitment to anti-fascism, willingness to challenge conventional gender expectations, and readiness to risk her career and reputation for her convictions.
The film also promises to examine the personal costs of those decisions, portraying Dietrich as an artist caught between exile, guilt, integrity, and the search for a place she could still call home.
The project continues Holland’s long-standing interest in stories where individual lives intersect with broader political and historical events. Throughout her career, the director has explored themes of moral responsibility, authoritarianism, identity, and democracy through films rooted in real historical experiences.
Although no casting or production schedule has yet been announced, the film’s subject matter and creative team position Berlinweh – Yearning for a Home as another ambitious historical drama from Holland, whose recent work has continued to attract international festival attention while tackling politically and emotionally complex stories through the experiences of remarkable historical figures.
Lead photo: Agnieszka Holland courtesy Marlene Film Production / Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express courtesy DepositPhotos.com
