Ulrich Seidl Developing New Feature Distances - Production / Funding - Austria/Germany/France

Key Takeaways

• Ulrich Seidl announces "Distances", a dark‑tourism drama in development
• Film co‑produced by Austria, Germany, France with public funding secured
• Cast includes comedian Christoph Grissemann and actress Maria Hofstätter
• Screenplay co‑written by Seidl, Veronika Franz, and Severin Fiala
• Completion slated for 2027, positioning it for major European festivals

Pulse Analysis

Ulrich Seidl, best known for the provocative *Paradise* trilogy and the unsettling *Dog Days*, returns to the thematic crossroads of tourism and discomfort with *Distances*. The film follows Carl Schwert, a middle‑aged Austrian who curates dark‑tourism trips to sites of tragedy, using collective suffering as a personal antidote to his own isolation. This narrative aligns with a growing cultural fascination for “dark tourism,” where audiences seek meaning in places marked by death and disaster, offering Seidl a fresh canvas to examine human detachment and yearning for intimacy.

*Distances* is anchored by a robust European co‑production framework, uniting Seidl’s Vienna‑based Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion with Berlin’s Essential Filmproduktion and Paris’s Société Parisienne de Production. The project has already secured multi‑layered public support from the Austrian Film Institute, Filmfonds Wien and Germany’s Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, illustrating how state‑backed financing continues to nurture auteur cinema across borders. The involvement of comedian‑turned‑actor Christoph Grissemann and seasoned performer Maria Hofstätter adds both domestic star power and a touch of familiar collaboration, while the screenplay benefits from the proven partnership of Seidl, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, whose recent successes include *Goodnight Mommy*.

Targeting a 2027 completion, *Distances* is poised for the European festival circuit, where Seidl’s previous works have garnered critical acclaim and distribution deals. The film’s exploration of dark tourism taps into a niche yet expanding market segment, appealing to festival programmers seeking socially resonant, character‑driven stories. Moreover, its multi‑national backing may facilitate broader territorial sales, leveraging co‑production treaties to access German, French and Austrian markets simultaneously, thereby reinforcing the commercial viability of art‑house projects in a fragmented streaming landscape.