Fourthcoming: Maren Ade Setting Up ‘Zauberwort’ for 2026 Shoot

Ulrike Ottinger came out of a long gestation period for The Blood Countess and now fellow female German filmmaker Maren Ade is in early prep mode to direct her fourth feature film — which comes almost a full decade since Toni Erdmann premiered in Cannes to critical acclaim. Ade has been busy wearing the producer’s hat: some notable recent items include About Dry Grasses, Ahed’s Knee, Corsage, Exile, Spencer and The Story of My Wife. In a Screen Daily profile on power horse producers Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach of Komplizen Film, they revealed that they are now tying up financing coin for Ade’s Zauberwort (aka Magic Word). Production would be set for 2026. No word yet on the gist of the project, but we’ll be keeping tabs on the project in the years to come.