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Sandra Hüller will star in “Arbeit und Struktur” (“Work and Structure”), Maria Schrader’s adaptation of the acclaimed autobiographical work by German writer and artist Wolfgang Herrndorf.
The movie will be produced by
Komplizen Film (“Sentimental Value”) and co-produced by Studiocanal (“Extrawurst”), ZDF and France’s Haut et Court (“The Night of the 12th”), with production set to begin in early 2027.
Studiocanal will handle worldwide sales and release the film in Germany, France and Italy in 2028.
Hüller, whose credits include “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest” and “Project Hail Mary,” will portray Herrndorf, a man who began documenting his life after being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in 2010.
The film will follow Herrndorf through the final years of his life as he confronts his illness while continuing to write and remain immersed in friendships, love and creative work. Moving between hospital stays, bursts of creative energy and intimate moments with friends and his partner, he chronicles an emotional landscape spanning panic and serenity, joy and insomnia, hope and despair, while continuing to work on multiple literary projects and searching for what truly matters.
“Ever since my first encounter with Wolfgang Herrndorf’s work, I have been unable to let go of his writing. His texts are at once surprising, unsettling, and comforting,” said Hüller said. “To encounter him as a person through this film: at a moment when his life changed abruptly, seemed on the verge of falling apart, and when he was simultaneously discovering his voice as a writer before it was tragically silenced, is both a great honour and a profound challenge for me,” she continued.
Hüller is also heading into what could be a robust awards season. The German actor, who earned her first Oscar nomination for “Anatomy of a Fall,” could find herself in contention for two Academy Award nominations this year, with “Project Hail Mary” and Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland.” The two roles could potentially put Hüller in both the lead and supporting actress races.
Published posthumously by Rowohlt Berlin Verlag in 2013, “Work and Structure” grew out of the online journal Herrndorf started following his diagnosis. The diary became a literary phenomenon in Germany and is considered one of the defining works of contemporary German literature.
Schrader, whose credits include “She Said,” “I’m Your Man,” “Unorthodox” and “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” will direct from a screenplay she is writing with Jan Schomburg.
“’Work and Structure’ is a solitary and intimate record of what it means to be alive. A man fights with words against his disappearance and, in the face of death, becomes more alive than ever before. Through his uncompromising honesty, his intelligence and irony, we follow Herrndorf into the bright, the dark and the secret corners of the human condition. Bringing that to the screen is one of the most exciting tasks I can imagine,” Schrader said.
Herrndorf is also known for the bestselling novel “Why We Took the Car,” originally titled “Tschick,” which was adapted for the screen and released in Germany by Studiocanal.
Komplizen Film’s Janine Jackowski said: “Wolfgang Herrndorf’s work has profoundly shaped, inspired, and moved us. Being able to adapt ‘Arbeit und Struktur’ for the screen, thanks to the trust placed in us by Rowohlt Berlin Verlag and Carola Wimmer, is a tremendous gift. With Sandra Hüller, Maria Schrader, and Jan Schomburg, we have brought together an exceptional creative team for this very special project, something we are immensely proud of.”
Studiocanal’s Hooman Afshari and Lutz Rippe said the project “brings together everything that defines great cinema: a singular voice, a deeply personal story and creative talent of the highest international standing.”
“Maria Schrader and Sandra Hüller are among the most important artists of their generation, and they will bring the power, intimacy and universality of this material to audiences in an extraordinary way,” they continued.
The project is backed by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Film- and Media Foundation NRW, the Federal Government’s jury-based cultural film funding program, the German Federal Film Board FFA through the Minitraité and Creative Europe MEDIA Slate Development.
