Variety: Samuel Goldwyn Films Picks Up Slovakia’s Oscar Entry ‘The Auschwitz Report’

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for “The Auschwitz Report,” Slovakia’s entry for international film to the Academy Awards.

The movie, directed by Peter Bebjak and based on Alfréd Wetzler’s novel “What Dante Did Not See,” tells the true story of two imprisoned Slovak Jewish men, Rudolf Vrba and Wetzler, who escape Auschwitz and risk their lives to meticulously report the horrific reality of Nazi operations to the world.

“The film is both heartbreaking and inspiring,” said Peter Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “Peter Bebjak crafted this film with great care both towards historical accuracy and the subjective experience of its central characters. The result is a gripping, visually inventive experience. We are honored to be part of the story of this important film.”

Goldwyn, which also is distributing Danish entry “Another Round,” plans to release the film in the U.S. in 2021.

“I am very glad that Samuel Goldwyn has decided to distribute our film, ‘The Auschwitz Report,’ and that the story of two Slovak Jews who escaped the hell of Auschwitz to try to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews, who were awaiting deportation to certain death, will thus find an audience in the United States,” Bebjak said. “We cannot allow that such people and actions be forgotten.”

“The Auschwitz Report” is produced by Slovak film production company DNA Productions. The film is co-written by Bebjak, Jozef Paštéka and Tomáš Bombík and produced by Natália Rau Guzinkiewiczová and Rasťo Šesták and Bebjak. The cast includes Noel Czuczor, Peter Onderjička and John Hannah.

This is Bebjak’s second film chosen as Slovakia’s official entry in the category following his 2017 film “The Line,” which was also produced by DNA Productions.

The deal was negotiated by Dirk Schürhoff, international sales agent Beta Cinema’s managing director, and Miles Fineburg, director of acquisitions and theatrical sales at Samuel Goldwyn Films.