29/11/2012 - The production company headed by Ilann Girard is presenting a project about Adolf Eichmann’s capture at the German-French Film Rendez-Vous

One project, Capturing the Devil, stands out among the 21 film projects being presented at the German-French Film Rendez-Vous' co-production market in Berlin since yesterday. Produced by Ilann Girard for Arsam International (who, among others, co-produced Venice Golden Lion winner Lebanon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), this thriller is also a historical account of the capture of Adolf Eichmann, the man who organised the Holocaust and was responsible for the extermination of 12 million people (of which 6 million were Jewish). The director linked to the project is Philippe Azoulay and the cast for the time being includes Austrian actor Karl Markovics (The Counterfeiters), German actor August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), French actor Yvan Attal (One Night [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Oz Zehavi, and Zohar Strauss.

Written by Philippe Azoulay, the screenplay features the Israeli secret service (Mossad) locating Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960. An elite commando is formed to capture him and brig him back alive to be judged in Jerusalem. Martial arts expert Peter Malkin is chosen to apprehend the fugitive, keep him in a safe place, and smuggle him out of Buenos Aires. Like the other members of the commando, a great part of Peter’s family was killed by the Nazis. During the prolonged sequestration, Peter is locked up with Eichmann, under the threat of an intervention by neo-Nazi organisations looking for them. The atmosphere becomes nightmarish and some agents want to kill Eichmann. As for Peter, he disobeys orders and speaks to the prisoner because he wants to understand the nature and roots of evil, how a man who looks so ordinary could possibly have organised the massacre of millions of innocents. But Eichmann’s answers and behaviour make Peter terribly confused…

Already supported by Israeli production company Lama Films, the project Capturing the Devil is looking for other co-producers and an international sales agent. The budget is estimated to be €4m for shooting planned for the summer of 2013 in Argentina, in Israel and Uruguay, or even in a studio in Germany.

(Translated from French)