Vertical Nabs TIFF Docu ‘Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World Of Ben Ferencz’

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has obtained U.S. distribution rights to Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World Of Ben Ferencz, a documentary that tells the story of Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor whose first case led to the conviction of several Nazi officials. Directed by Barry Avrich, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last year. Vertical is eyeing a theatrical and digital release in May.

Ferencz, a lifelong advocate of “law not war” who, after witnessing Nazi concentration camps shortly after liberation, became lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg, which has been called the biggest murder trial in history. He was 27 years old and it was his first trial. All 22 Nazi officials tried for murdering over a million people were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and later for the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

The documentary features interviews with Alan Dershowitz, David Scheffer, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, and General Wesley Clark.

Avrich produced this pic. The Canadian filmmaker credit’s include The Last Mogul, a film about film producer Lew Wasserman, 2004’s Guilty Pleasure, and the television special Caesar and Cleopatra, which starred Christopher Plummer.

Seventh Art will release Prosecuting Evil in Canadian territories.

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