EXCLUSIVE: International Film Trust (IFT) has closed pre-sales out of the American Film Market for Stefan Ruzowitzky’s (The Counterfeiters) historical-thriller Kristallnacht, which will star Clive Owen (Children Of Men), Alex Pettyfer (The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare) and Karl Markovics (The Counterfeiters).
Wild Bunch has acquired the project for Germany and Italy. Deals have also been struck for Spain (YouPlanet), Eastern Europe (Monolith/Blitz), Middle East (Falcon Films), Greece (Spentzos), Israel (Red Cape Distribution), Portugal (Pris Audiovisuiais), and CIS (MGN/Paradise).
Kristallnacht translates as Night of Broken Glass, a reference to the thousands of shops, businesses and synagogues destroyed by the Nazis across the two nights in November 1938.
Set on the brink of World War II in Berlin, the true story unfolds in a city turned into a powder keg after the assassination of a German attaché in Paris, which is wrongfully branded a “Jewish terrorist attack” by Nazi propaganda. Pettyfer plays Kai Lehmann, a young and impressionable police officer, who, alongside his superior Lieutenant Krützfeld, played by Owen, navigates the turbulent streets of Berlin as citizens turn violently against the perceived “enemy within,” descending on Jewish neighborhoods.
Markovics portrays Isaac Roth, a Jewish man caught up in the day’s terror as he is wrongfully accused of murder. As chaos engulfs Berlin over a harrowing twenty-four hours, Krützfeld and Lehmann are confronted with a profound moral dilemma: uphold the system or take a stand for what is right.
Principal photography is slated to begin in February 2025 in Austria. Ruzowitzky and Markovics previously teamed on 2008 Oscar winner The Counterfeiters.
Michael Benaroya (Margin Call), Benaroya Pictures CEO and International Film Trust co-founder, is producing. Benaroya Pictures and Dor Film are co-financing the U.S.-Austrian co-production with principal photography set to begin in early 2025 in Austria. Danny Krausz of Dor Film, Marcelo Gandola, and Daniel Zuta are also producing. Ben Sachs, Seth Renshaw, and Gregory McLachlan are executive-producing for Benaroya Pictures, and Florian Krügel for Dor Film. Cinelaunch co-founder Chris K. Daniels also serves as an exec producer.
“We are thrilled to have confirmed such reputable distribution partners in key territories to handle this impactful story, told by celebrated artists”, IFT President of Sales, Christian de Gallegos, remarked.
