Diane Kruger stars in Akin's miniseries about Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich's life probably offers too much material for a classic film: Her criticism of Nazi Germany, her career in Hollywood, her songs, all of this is to be turned into a mini-series.

Diane Kruger stars in Akin's miniseries about Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich's life probably offers too much material for a classic film: Her criticism of Nazi Germany, her career in Hollywood, her songs, all of this is to be turned into a mini-series. Fatih Akin is directing, with Diane Kruger starring.

The biography "My Mother Marlene", written by Marlene Dietrich's daughter Maria Riva, will be filmed. The almost 900-page book is to flow into a five-episode mini-series. This was announced by UFA Fiction and Bombero International. Fatih Akin will direct the ambitious project, while the internationally successful actress Diane Kruger slips into the role of Dietrich. The project is currently being planned under the working title "Marlene".

According to Akin, this is "not only the first series I penned and directed, but also the greatest challenge in my cinematic work. Marlene was not only a cinematic icon, but also a woman in exile, a German migrant in America, a resistance fighter and so much more." He is also pleased to add another chapter to his "successful collaboration with Diane Kruger". In 2017, the two had already shot the drama "Out of Nowhere" together.

Kruger, who is also on board as executive producer of "Marlene" alongside Akin, is certain that the director "will not only film a series about the icon and world star Marlene Dietrich, but above all the intimate portrait of a unique one woman in an extraordinary epoch". She "can't wait to stand in front of Fatih's camera again and let Marlene Dietrich shine in the limelight again".

Marlene Dietrich, born in Schöneberg in 1901, is still considered a style icon and one of the first German-speaking stars to gain a foothold in Hollywood. Instead of supporting Nazi propaganda, she became a US citizen in the late 1930s and visited and performed for US soldiers during World War II. In 1947 she received the Medal of Freedom from US President Harry S. Truman for her services.

Her most famous films include "Red Lola" by Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) and "A Foreign Affair" by Billy Wilder. As a singer, she made a name for herself with songs like "Lili Marleen" and "I'm set on love from head to toe".