August Diehl, Andrea Riseborough to Play Shostakovichs in ‘The Noise of Time’

German star August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds, A Hidden Life) and Oscar-nominated actress Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, To Leslie) have signed on to star in The Noise of Time, a new drama about the life of Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich and his wife Nina, adapted from Julian Barnes’ book of the same name.

Two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton (The Father, Dangerous Liaisons) is adapting Barnes’ novel for the screen, with Polish director Jan Komasa (the Oscar-nominated Corpus Christi) attached to direct.

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The film will trace the trajectory of Shostakovich’s life and career, beginning in 1936 when the 30-year-old composer first faced Stalin’s wrath after one of his operas is condemned as counter-revolutionary. He escapes execution but for decades Shostakovich is forced to be a cultural representative of the Soviet state, and struggles to maintain the integrity of his music.

Beta Cinema is handling world sales on the film and will be introducing it to buyers at the Cannes film market this week.

Diehl will next be seen as Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele in Kirill Serebrennikov’s Disappearance and in Michael Lockshin’s literary adaptation The Master and Margarita. Riseborough, Oscar-nominated for her role in Michael Morris’ To Leslie, starred alongside Domhnall Gleeson in the limited series Alice & Jack.

Thomas Kufus is producing The Noise of Time for zero one film with Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Hickinbotham of Aurum Film and Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey at London-based Wildgaze Films. The film is set to begin production in early 2025.

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