Four years after tackling the Oscar-winning World War I drama “1917,” producer Jayne-Ann Tenggren is mounting the World War II epic “Enemy of My Enemy.”
Powder Hound Pictures and the Polish Film Instituteare teaming up tofinanceand co-producethe film, which centers on one ofthe world’sgreat unsung heroes, Captain Witold Pilecki. During the Holocaust, the Polish cavalry officer volunteered to be arrested and taken to Auschwitz, where he formed a resistance group and leaked information revealing conditions insidethe camp to the Allies. Followinghis escape from Auschwitz in April 1943, Pilecki continued to fight for a free and independent Poland in the wake of Stalin’s communist takeover of the country.
Matt King(“Boomtown”) wrote the screenplay based on the criticallyacclaimed book“Ochotnik”(“The Volunteer”) by Italian historian Marco Patricelli. Productionwill take place in Poland and Italy. Elizabeth Stillwell(“Lizzie”)is producing alongside Tenggren. They will work with a local production team and have secured the cooperation of Pilecki’s familyand have conducted extensive research for the project.
“I was thrilled to read the script and to be working with the filmmakers,” saysPilecki’s great-grandsonKrzysztof Kosior. “I am grateful this filmis being made and that a global audiencewill know my great-grandfather’s story.”
“Enemy of My Enemy” marks the largest film of its kind in Poland andbrings together public and private resources while signaling the country’s commitment to expand Poland’s internationalco-productions.
The deal was negotiated by Carolyn HuntandStephen Weizeneckerof the law firm Barnes & Thornburg and Maciej Kubiakas well asPiotr Nikołajuk of the law firm Ślusarek Kubiak Pieczyk. Gersh represents Tenggren, whose producing credits also include the James Bond film “Spectre.”
