11/04/2013 - German production company Egoli Tossell Film brings the bestselling novel with a star-studded cast to the screen

After international hits such as Hannah Montana, Funny Bones and Hear My Song, British writer/director Peter Chelsom (photo) brings the bestselling novel Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord to the screen. The shooting of this funny, adventurous journey with comedian Simon Pegg in the title role started in Vancouver at the beginning of April. The look of the film is designed by German director of photography Kolja Brandt, who filmed German cinema hits such as Young Goethe in Love [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and North Face [+see also:
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film profile]. Further shooting locations of the German-Canadian co-production include London, China and South Africa.

The hilarious comedy focuses on a British psychiatrist who decides to leave his surgery and daily life behind to find out if happiness exists. Also taking part in this exotic and colourful journey around the globe are Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Toni Collette, Jean Reno and German actress Veronica Ferres.

The feel-good movie is a German-Canadian co-production by Berlin-based Egoli Tossell Film  and Screen Siren Pictures. Further backing comes from co-producers Erfttal Film, Wild Bunch Germany, ARD Degeto, Construction Film, Film House Germany and Head Gear Films. In Germany, producer Judy Tossell received support from the Federal Film Board, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF). On the Canadian side, Telefilm Canada, Film Incentive BC and Canadian Production Tax Credits (CPTC) are contributing to the financing.

The script of Hector and the Search for Happiness is written by Peter Chelsom, Tinker Lindsay and Maria von Heland whose career began with the German teenage drama Große Mädchen weinen nicht. "This is a very fascinating and unusual story with a commercial potential," said Marc Gabizon, CEO of Wild Bunch Germany. "We joined the project as co-producer at a very early stage." The German distributor plans to release the film in 2014, with world sales being handled by The Solution Entertainment Group.