Agnieszka Holland’s “Franz” Finds Kafka in Poet-Actor Idan Weiss, Heads to Oscars
Prague/Los Angeles – November 21, 2023 – Agnieszka Holland’s highly anticipated biopic, Franz, has been selected as Poland’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Academy Awards. The film, centered on the life of literary icon Franz Kafka, hinged on finding an actor who embodied not just the writer’s physical appearance, but his very essence. Holland adn screenwriter Marek epstein sought a performer beyond the traditional acting pool.
“I felt that it can work eventually, if we will find not only [the actor] physically relevant to the image we have of Franz Kafka but also some kind of the soul of Franz Kafka,” Holland explained. She envisioned a performance rooted in “presence” and “charisma,” directing casting directors to look towards artists – poets and musicians – rather than comedians.
The search ultimately led to Idan Weiss, discovered through German casting legend Simone Bär. Though, Bär tragically passed away from cancer shortly after submitting Weiss’s name, leaving Holland initially unaware and anxiously awaiting a response. “It’s not possible. That guy not only looks like Franz Kafka,but also he has that something special,different,” Holland recalled thinking upon seeing Weiss. She later described weiss as Bär’s “last gift to us, to cinema.”
During a recent 30-minute panel discussion, Holland detailed her creative choices, including the decision to focus on Kafka’s In the Penal Colony over more widely known works like The Metamorphosis and The Castle, stating, “you felt uncomfortable watching it? Yes, good.” She also explored her interpretation of the term “Kafkaesque” and her evolving connection to the writer through the filmmaking process.
Holland underscored Kafka’s enduring relevance, pointing to a surge in sales of his works - alongside those of George Orwell and Philip Roth – following Donald Trump’s 2016 election. “Today,some of his novels,like The Trial especially,are extremely relevant because we’ve been believing for quite a long time in the success of liberal democracy and the state of law and human rights. And now we see that it’s over. Especially with the system and institutions of the law, which are arbitrary and dehumanized, when anyone can be accused and anyone can be guilty.”