05/11/2021 - Ed Herzog is directing a new feature set in Bavaria, based on the crime novels of Rita Falk and starring Sebastian Bezzel as a village policeman

l-r: Daniel Christensen, Eisi Gulp, Sebastian Bezzel, Enzi Fuchs and Lisa Maria Potthoff in Guglhupfgeschwader (© Constantin Film Verleih/Bernd Schuller)

Constantin Film, in collaboration with German state TV channel ARD, has already produced seven features based on the novels of Rita Falk, centring on village policeman Eberhofer. After the considerable success of the crime-comedies at the box office, an eighth story with this same protagonist has just been adapted for the big screen. So far, Falk has published a total of 11 novels, which are all set in Bavaria. German director Ed Herzog has now been entrusted with bringing Guglhupfgeschwader (lit. “Ring Cake Squadron”) to life. He wrote the screenplay together with scriptwriter and actor Stefan Betz, with whom he has also collaborated for the previous seven Eberhofer features.

While the most recent Bavarian comedy, Kaiserschmarrndrama, is still being shown in theatres in Germany, and has so far enticed over 1.1 million cinemagoers, the shoot for the next feature has just wrapped. Although the series of movies has a predominant local flavour – for example, in terms of traditions, spoken language and setting – it is also appreciated outside Bavaria, since it has already drawn in around 6 million viewers from all parts of Germany.

Policeman Franz Eberhofer has built up a considerable fan base. Playing the role of this slightly lazy, mostly unimpressed and often overwhelmed (but at the same time underestimated) eternal bachelor is German actor Sebastian Bezzel. He is best known for some of his TV productions and his involvement in one of the instalments of the famous German crime series Tatort [+see also:
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film profile]. The cast also remains consistent in the eighth feature of the series. Besides Bezzel, the movie stars Austrian actor Simon Schwarz (What Have We Done to Deserve This? [+see also:
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In this new instalment, Eberhofer is confronted not only with his own unexpected offspring, but also with relentless debt collectors, who do not even have mercy on his grandmother’s freshly baked ring cakes – and that is surely the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Then, the lottery shop gets blown up, and the whole village descends into turmoil.

Guglhupfgeschwader will be released on 4 August 2022. The film is a co-production between Constantin Film Produktion, ARD Degeto and BR (Bayerischer Rundfunk). It was funded by the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, the StMD (Bayerische Staatsministerium für Digitales), the FFA (Filmförderungsanstalt) and the DFFF (German Federal Film Fund).