New Anne Frank Biopic from 'Sophie Scholl' Screenwriter

COLOGNE, Germany – The short poignant life of Anne Frank is heading again to the big screen, courtesy of German screenwriter Fred Breinersdorfer, who penned the Oscar-nominated period drama Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005).

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German production companies Spectrum and Zeitsprung Pictures have signed on to produce the new feature film in collaboration with the Swiss-based Anne Frank Fonds, the body set up by Anne's father Otto Frank to preserve her legacy and manage rights to her diaries.

The new film will be based not just on Anne Frank's famous diary but on extensive historical documentation from the family. It aims to tell Frank's whole story, both before and after her time in hiding.

The approach is similar to that of Sophie Scholl. Breinserdorfer used new archive material on the arrest and trial of the famed leader of the non-violent anti-Nazi resistance movement The White Rose to retell an historic tale filmed many times before.

A director and cast have not yet been set. Shooting is planned for 2013.

The story of Anne Frank has been told many times on film and TV. The 1959 biopic The Diary of Anne Frank, featuring Mille Perkins as Anne, won three Oscars, including a Best Supporting Actress honor for Shelley Winters. A 1980 TV movie based on Anne Frank's life, starring Melissa Gilbert as Anne and Maximilian Schell as her father Otto, received multiple Emmy nominations.