German-Spanish actor Daniel Bruhl, most known for his roles in Good Bye Lenin! and as racing driver Niki Lauda in Rush, is set to make his directing debut on the German-language dark comedy Next Door.

Bruhl’s own production shingle Amusement Park Films is behind the project, with Warner Bros Germany part-financing and taking German-speaking territories.

Amusement Park co-founder Malte Grunert revealed the news during a panel at the Zurich Summit, which takes place today (September 28) as part of the Zurich Film Festival.

Speaking to Deadline, Grunert said the team were lining up a shoot in Berlin for next spring. The film is a two-hander with Bruhl and another actor, who is currently being cast. Financing is now being completed.

Exact plot details are being kept under-wraps but the film will explore the subjects of gentrification and social inequality in Berlin. Daniel Kehlmann is writing the screenplay.

Amusement Park is also working on a TV adaptation of Günter Grass’s 1959 novel Tin Drum. The project was previously made into a feature film in 1979 by director Volker Schlöndorff, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes that year and the foreign language Oscar in 1980.