03/18/2011

New Dutch war drama SÜSKIND to start shooting

Jeroen Spitzenberger (LOVE IS ALL) and Lotte Verbeek (NOTHING PERSONAL) are Walter and Hanna Süskind, and Karl Markovics (DIE FÄLSCHER; UNKNOWN) plays SS Hauptsturmführer Ferdinand Aus der Fünten in the tense war drama SÜSKIND, directed by Rudolf van den Berg (TIRZA). SÜSKIND tells the true story of Jewish resistance hero Walter Süskind who worked for the Jewish Council in Amsterdam during the Second World War. By playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Nazi Aus der Fünten, he managed to save almost a thousand Jewish children from deportation. Other major roles are played by Tygo Gernandt, Nasrdin Dchar, Katja Herbers, Chava Voor in 't Holt and Olga Zuiderhoek. SÜSKIND is a production of Fu Works (WINTER IN WARTIME, BLACK BOOK) and Cadenza Films (TIRZA, SNAPSHOTS). San Fu Maltha (Fu Works), Jeroen Koolbergen (Cadenza Films) and Reinier Selen will produce the film in a co-production with Dutch broadcaster VARA. Shooting starts on April 4th and will take place in the Netherlands, Belgium and Romania.
1942. In an attempt to save a group of Jewish children from deportation, Walter Süskind befriends the SS officer Ferdinand Aus der Fünten. When the latter discovers that Süskind has been using him and  their friendship is nothing but a lie, the Nazi ruthlessly takes his revenge on the Jew.
Last year, director Rudolf van den Berg’s film TIRZA – based on the best-selling novel by Arnon Grunberg – was the Dutch entry for the Academy Awards. Previously Van den Berg directed such critically acclaimed  films as LOOKING FOR EILEEN, BASTILLE, EVENINGS and FOR MY BABY. Van den Berg on the film: "The Shoah (Holocaust) has always felt like a puzzle in my life that has to be solved somehow. This is not possible working from behind my desk. Only in the cinema, I think, can I get even a glimpse of the horror that took place just a few years before my birth. By making SÜSKIND, I hope to be able to share my total perplexity about this incomprehensible chapter in history with an audience. When the script was finished I began to see a movie that is not only about history, but also about us, about the time we are living in, about our existence in a world where stigma and genocide have almost become stereotypical dimensions of international politics."
Producer San Fu Maltha: "After BLACK BOOK and WINTER IN WARTIME it is time for a World War II film based on a true story. SÜSKIND is a film full of heroism, betrayal and tragedy. It reveals a piece of our national history. Walter Süskind is the Dutch Oskar Schindler’.
The film is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Dutch Film Fund and CoBO. In addition, the film is financed by MyM (Make Your Movie) and U-Media.
Distributor Independent Films will release SÜSKIND in Dutch cinemas in the winter of 2011/2012.