British director Paul Andrew Williams is gearing up to tackle some difficult subject matter for his next film, as THR reports the director will be helming the concentration camp drama Sobibor. He will be reuniting with his Song for Marion producers, Egoli Tossell and Steel Mill for the project.
The project, which Williams also wrote, is based on the barely known, true story of the only recorded escape from a concentration camp. “In October 14, 1943, around half of the 600 prisoners in the Sobibor extermination camp in Nazi-occupied Poland revolted against their guards and escaped. The Nazis closed down the camp and bulldozed it.” There’s no word on any production or casting details for the project, but one can assume they’ll begin to surface after the news from Cannes dies down.
THR also informs us that Sobibor recently made headlines in the news after a German court sentenced John Demjanjuk for helping murder more than 28,000 Jews at the camp. Demjanjuk died in March while he was waiting appeal, and is most likely the last man to be convicted of Nazi war crimes.
Since this resurfacing news just happened, it’s hard to say if Williams incorporated that into the script. If he does in fact do so, there would be some definite parallels between Sobibor. Although we’ve seen so many Holocaust-centered films over the years, they’re usually approached delicately, with a few being worth a wach. Since we’re not too familiar with Williams‘ work in Britain over in the states, I’m hoping he can achieve the same grace and do justice to this story. His next film, Marion, stars Gemma Arterton, Christopher Eccleston, Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp and will likely hit theaters later this year.
Are you interested in seeing Sobibor?