‘1917’ Producer Jayne-Ann Tenggren to Tackle World War II Epic as Follow-Up (EXCLUSIVE)

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 Institute are teaming up to finance and co-produce the film, which centers on one of the world’s great 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 inside the camp to the Allies. Following his 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.

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Matt King (“Boomtown”) wrote the screenplay based on the critically acclaimed book “Ochotnik” (“The Volunteer”) by Italian historian Marco Patricelli. Production will 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 family and have conducted extensive research for the project.

“I was thrilled to read the script and to be working with the filmmakers,” says Pilecki’s great-grandson Krzysztof Kosior. “I am grateful this film is being made and that a global audience will know my great-grandfather’s story.”

“Enemy of My Enemy” marks the largest film of its kind in Poland and brings together public and private resources while signaling the country’s commitment to expand Poland’s international co-productions.

The deal was negotiated by Carolyn Hunt and Stephen Weizenecker of the law firm Barnes & Thornburg and Maciej Kubiak as well as Piotr Nikołajuk of the law firm Ślusarek Kubiak Pieczyk. Gersh represents Tenggren, whose producing credits also include the James Bond film “Spectre.”

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