‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ Director Peter Webber Joins Wartime Thriller ‘Irena Sendler’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Brent Lang
·3 min read

Peter Webber has signed on to direct the wartime thriller “Irena Sendler.” It tells the true story of Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who defied the Nazis and organized a team of young women to smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. Casting is currently underway and production is expected to start in Poland later this year or early in 2024.

The script was penned by Agatha Dominik, Brian Pittman & Rachel Long, Stuart Hazeldine, and Jeff Most. The film will be produced by Most (“The Crow”), BAFTA Award winning and Academy Award winning producer Ewa Puszczyńska (“Cold War,” “Ida”), Jeff Rice (“Lone Survivor,” “A Private War”), Armory Films’ Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros (“The Peanut Butter Falcon,” “Mudbound”), and Golden Globe winning producer Gareth Wiley (“Match Point,” “Vicky Christina Barcelona”) of Phoenix Wiley.

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“Irene Sendler was an icon, an inspiration, an incredibly brave young woman who risked her own life to save hundreds of young children in the Warsaw Ghetto from certain death at the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War,” Webber said. “The chance to bring her story to a contemporary audience is a fantastic opportunity. In a time where once again there is a war on European soil and the spectre of Fascism and genocide is no longer just a distant memory but a contemporary reality, its important to tell a story that inspires us to remember a hero of the past, a woman who helped face down oppression and brutality in a dark era of human history.”

Most, one of the film’s writer and producers, engaged in a four-year correspondence with Irena Sendler before he and his fellow producer, Rice, were able to secure Sandler’s blessing to tell her story. She died in 2008. In addition to obtaining Sendler’s authorized biography and her, and her family’s life rights, they also had access to unpublished details about her life, which the Sandler family provided, that will be included in the film.

“I had the great fortune to work closely with Irena Sendler,” Most said. “We discussed how her story; a monumental tale of social workers engaged in espionage to outwit Nazis and save thousands of children from the clutches of death, could be a moving, consciousness-raising, and popular film beloved by audiences the world over. I’m certain that for Irena, director Peter Webber personifies exactly the type of award-winning, deeply personal, and passionate filmmaker she would have been ecstatic to see bringing her incredibly thrilling and inspirational journey to life on the big screen.”

Producers Zajaros and Lemole of Armory Films said: “Irena Sendler exemplifies unparalleled courage and selflessness. Her extraordinary journey stands as a pinnacle of heroism, transcending the realms of both fact and fiction. As we delved into the story, we were immediately compelled to join the effort of sharing her profoundly inspiring tale. The inclusion of Peter Webber in this endeavor fills us with immense enthusiasm as his creative genius will ensure that Irena’s story received the utmost care it rightfully deserves.”

Webber received a BAFTA Award-nomination for “Best Newcomer” and won several prestigious festival awards for his debut feature, “The Girl With A Pearl Earring,” starring Scarlett Johansson. His other credits include “Hannibal Rising,” a prequel to the Hannibal Lecter films, and “Emperor” starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition, he co-directed the documentary “Earth: One Amazing Day” for the BBC which was narrated by Robert Redford and Jackie Chan.

Webber is represented by 42 and UTA.

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