Colin Firth has just been cast in the lead role in Pat O’Connor’s Benjamin’s Crossing. Per Deadline, the film is based on the true story of Walter Benjamin, a Jewish philosopher who escaped Nazi Germany by crossing the Pyrenees Mountains in 1940. It will be based on the novel of the same name by Jay Parini.
This is the second time Firth and O’Connor have worked together; O’Connor directed the King’s Speech actor in the 1987 film A Month in the Country.
The film begins in 1940 as “Benjamin finds himself forced to flee his home in Paris on the heels of the Nazi invasion. With nowhere else to turn, he meets Lisa Fittko, who is helping refugees escape to Spain through the Pyrenees. Despite his weak physical condition, Lisa reluctantly agrees to bring him along, leading an unlikely group of refugees on a daring adventure that will change their lives forever.”
Benjamin’s Crossing will be produced by Carl Effenson of Artimage Entertainment, Sally Jo Effenson of Joule Films and Lucas Jarach along with Fortitude’s Robert Ogden Barnum and Nadine de Barros.
“Jay and Devon have written a beautiful script, which the producers are honored to support, with Pat O’Connor at the helm. The worldwide refugee crisis makes Benjamin’s plight as timely now as it was during WWII. It is a great, untold and truly heroic story that must be told,” said Carl and Sally Jo Effenson.
Production is scheduled for Fall 2017. Firth, meanwhile, will be seen next in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, reprising his role as Harry Hart.
Originally published May 16, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
