German production outfit MMC Studios (“Amelie”) is backing romanic drama “Dear Eszter,” from writer/director Alex Balassa.
Bastian Griese and Lucas Hamacher will produce the film for MMC Studios in Cologne, alongside Balassa.
The film’s co-producers include Peter Seres (“World War Z”) at Hungary’s Punk Films, as well as Ondrej Beranek (“The Chronicles of Narnia”) from the Czech Republic’s Blindspot Capital.
Two of Chile’s foremost TV producers, Maria Elena Wood (“Locas Mujeres”) and Patricio Pereira from Maria Wood Producciones (MEW), serve as executive producers.
Said Wood: “We are delighted that Sebastian Griese and MMC are joining the project from Germany.”
Balassa and partner Marisol Mijares are producing through the Balassa Films (“Sweet Little Lies”) shingle. Balassa will direct from a script that he co-wrote with a number of writers, including Mijares, Mexico’s Alejandro Orozco, and Mario P. Székely (“And Your Mother Too”).
Based on the story of his grandmother, as told to Balassa on her deathbed, the feature tells the story of how Estzer, based out of Concepción Chile, became an interpreter of letters in WWII, following the death of her sister. Her clients included two lovers communicating between Chile and Hungary.
Felipe is a Chilean mechanic who loves poetry and lives during the Chilean Dictatorship. Ilonka is a cellist working as a janitor in the Budapest Post Office during the Goulash Communism. Their encounter could be endangered after they discover that Eszter embellished their letters.
The script has so far won 16 awards. It was a script finalist at the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards last year; a semi-finalist at The Script Lab – TSL Free Screenplay Contest in 2021; and a Semifinalist at the Golden Script Competition 2022, amongst others.
The producers are seeking a European network, streaming platform or a sales agent or distributor.