Samuel Goldwyn Mayer acquires Slovakia’s Oscar hopeful ‘The Auschwitz Report’ for U.S.

Samuel Goldwyn Films announced today that the company has acquired U.S. rights to The Auschwitz Report, Slovakia’s Academy Award Best International Feature Film submission.  The Auschwitz Report is a true story of hope and courage in the face of unimaginable terror, told with striking artistry by writer/director Peter Bebjak. A highly established Slovak director, this is Bebjak’s second film chosen as Slovakia’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, following his 2017 film The Line, which was also produced by DNA Productions.

Slovakia’s official submission for an Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Auschwitz Report is a haunting yet deeply moving account of two imprisoned Slovak Jewish men, Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler. Risking certain death, the two orchestrate a meticulous report of Nazi operations before escaping from Auschwitz to reveal the long-denied truth to the world. What Wetzler and Vrba come home to, however, is the agonizing realization that even the truth may not be enough. The film takes a visceral cinematic approach to the portrayal of immense struggle and unbelievable determination, engrossing the audience in a heightened physical and emotional journey which lingers long after the closing shot.

Goldwyn plans to release the film in the US in 2021.

According to Peter Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films: “The film is both heartbreaking and inspiring. 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.”

Filmmaker Peter Bebjak added: “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. We cannot allow that such people and actions be forgotten.”