Swissdirector Mike Eschmann, whose last comedy Achtung, Fertig, Charlie! is the most successfullocal film of the past 25 years, begins shooting his next feature Tell, a parody of the Swissnational hero Wilhelm Tell, in the Bernese Alps from today (Aug 7).

The$4.9m (Euros 3.8m) Swiss-German co-production between Lucerne-based ZodiacPictures, Impuls Home Entertainment, Swissbroadcaster SF and Germany's MMC Independent willspend three weeks on location inSwitzerland before moving to the MMC Studios in Cologne forfive weeks of interiors in September and October.

Juergen Ladenburger'sscreenplay, in the spirit of the German genre send-up Manitou's Shoe and the Mel Brooks' films, has Tell in business withanother Swiss icon Heidi marketing a beauty elixir which promises eternalyouth. Tell, who in reality is an Austrian, dreams of using his earnings tobecome a Swiss citizen.

Theeponymous hero Till is being played by Swiss comedian Mike Mueller, who wasnominated for a Swiss Film Award for his performance in 2005's top local film Mein Name Ist Eugen, with a cast including German actors Axel Stein,Christian Tramitz, and UdoKier.

UniversalPictures will release the film in Switzerland, Germany and Austria in autumn2007.

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