Katie Fforde – Emma’s Secret

Baltic Sea instead of US East Coast – in the summer of 2020, two new films in the “Katie Fforde” series were shot in Lübeck, Holstein and Hohwachter Bucht. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the ZDF “Herzkino” production unceremoniously moved to one of Germany’s most popular vacation spots for filming: Holstein Switzerland. Usually, the series is filmed in Boston and the surrounding area. For the change of location, the script of the melodrama “Katie Fforde: Emma’s Secret” was transferred to a northern German living environment.

How can one live with the feeling of a great debt? The first film, entitled “Katie Fforde: Emma’s Secret,” centers on piano teacher Emma Blum (Julia Brendler). Everything seems to be going perfectly in her life: she loves her job and wants to move in with boyfriend Nick (Josef Heynert) soon. But then a music clip throws her completely off track: in the young pianist Noah Paulsen (Lennart Betzgen), Emma thinks she recognizes her son Jacob, whom she once gave up for adoption. She finally tracks down her son, whom she has sorely missed for years, at the harbor of a fishing village on the Baltic Sea. Noah senses a chance to get a place at a renowned Lübeck music academy with Emma’s help. Emma gets caught up in the idea of finally being able to make up for her past mistake. But in doing so, she not only jeopardizes her job, but also her relationship with Nick.

Helmut Metzger directs the film. The screenplay was written by Jenny Maruhn based on a draft by Annika Scheffel and Martina Mouchot. Other roles are played by Victoria Trauttmansdorff, Kai Mertens, Jessica Kosmalla and Ingrit Dohse.

Photos: Georges Pauly / ZDF