About Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.
Director Statement:
“In 1933, when Hitler attained power in Germany, the first thing he took over was the German church. He used his brute nationalism to sway the Lutheran and Catholic leadership to his way of seeing the world. Within months, Bibles and crosses disappeared from sanctuaries, replaced by copies of Mein Kampf and the ever present swastika.
"One man inside the church decided that political courage was an act of faith, and to stand silent in the face of evil, was in fact, evil itself. "Bonhoeffer" is the story of that man. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A son of privilege who traded his very life to fight against Hitler and to stand in the breach to protect the lives of innocent Jews. A man whose books, many of them written in prison, have sold countless millions over the decades. A hero whose statue stands outside Westminster Abbey next to MLK, Jr.’s. A human being who decided that his life was worth trading if it meant another man could go free.
"Remarkably, Dietrich found his faith during his time studying in Harlem, New York City, while attending the legendary Abyssinian Baptist Church, led by Adam Clayton Powell. It was there that Dietrich saw dynamic, joyous faith in action. And he also saw the struggle of blacks to find total freedom in their own country. The racism he witnessed in America gave him a new lens through which to see Hitler’s heinous anti-semitism, long before the rest of Germany understood what was truly taking place.
"Political courage has essentially disappeared in 2023. We live in a time where to open your mouth, let alone your heart, will unleash a trap door beneath our feet. Twitter hasn’t made us bolder with our opinions, but has caused us to shape them to fit our notion of the crowd. We love to pile on, but we dare not stand out. There has never been a better time to show the world that courage is not a luxury, or a fad, it is a necessity if society is to keep from destroying itself.
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer still stands as a lighthouse, to remind us that we need each other. That we are all connected. And where one man suffers, we all do.”
Synopsis:
As the world teeters on the brink of annihilation, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is swept into the epicenter of a deadly plot to assassinate Hitler. With his faith and fate at stake, Bonhoeffer must choose between upholding his moral convictions or risking it all to save millions of Jews from genocide. Will his shift from preaching peace to plotting murder alter the course of history or cost him everything?
Tagline:
One voice can become the loudest rebellion.
Logline:
As the world teeters on the brink of annihilation, Dietrich Bonhoeffer joins a deadly plot to assassinate Hitler, risking his faith and fate to save millions of Jews from genocide.
Rating:
PG-13 for violent content, thematic elements and some smoking.
Run Time:
2 hours 13 minutes
In Theaters:
November 22, 2024
Social Media Accounts:
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About the Cast and Filmmakers
Jonas Dassler was born in Remscheid, Germany, in 1996. While studying theatre at the acting school Ernst Busch in Berlin, he shot his first feature film "Uns geht es gut" by Henri Steinmetz in 2014. In 2015 he played the leading role in Julia Langhoff's "Lomo - The Language of Many Others", for which he received the Filmkunstpreis Sachsen-Anhalt in 2017, the Götz-George Nachwuchspreis and the Bayerischer Filmpreis as best young actor. Furthermore, Jonas Dassler was awarded with the New Berlin Film Award for Best Actor at the Achtung Berlin Festival. In 2017 Jonas Dassler played in "Das schweigende Klassenzimmer" by Lars Kraume, for which he also received the Bavarian Film Award as Best Young Actor. In 2017 he shot for the TV mini-series "Die Protokollantin" by Nina Grosse and Samira Radsi. Since the 2017/18 season, Jonas Dassler has been a permanent member of the ensemble at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin. In 2019 Jonas starred in Fathi Akin's much discussed film "Der goldene Handschuh" which premiered at Berlinale Competition. Jonas was nominated for the Deutscher Filmpreis in 2019 for his performance as "Honka". In 2020 Jonas Dassler became EUROPEAN SHOOTING STAR. The same year he played the lead role in Lena Stahls debut “My Son”. In 2021 “Skin Deep” was shot with Jonas Dassler in a leading role. This movie received the “Queer Lion Award” at Venice Filmfestival in 2022. The same year Jonas Dassler shot alongside Eric Bana in “Berlin Nobody”, directed by Jordan Scott.
For more than two decades, August Diehl has been an established figure on the German film and theater scene and internationally for many years as well. His role in Hans-Christian Schmid's film 23 made him instantly famous. In a series of films such as KALT IST DER ABENDHAUCH, TATTOO, WAS NÜTZT DIE LIEBE IN GEDANKEN, LICHTER, THE NINTH DAY, the Oscar-winning THE COUNTERFEITERS, HEAD UNDER WATER, DR. ALEMAN and BUDDENBROOKS, he was able to prove his versatility. In 2009 he was seen in Quentin Tarantino's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, and in 2010 in SALT (directed by Philip Noyce). In theaters in Berlin, Hamburg, Zurich or Vienna he shone in DIE MÖWE, DON CARLOS, DER JUDE VON MALTA or MAJOR BARBARA. His directors included Bondy, Grüber and Peter Zadek, with whom he worked on three productions. Diehl's television work includes KABALE UND LIEBE, staged by Leander Haussmann.
For Lars Kraume's DIE KOMMENDEN TAGE he was starring together with Daniel Brühl, Johanna Wokalek and Susanne Lothar. The film opened in German theaters in 2010. In 2011, he starred as Bernward Vesper for the feature production WER WENN NICHT WIR by Andreas Viel. For this role he was nominated for the GERMAN FILM AWARD. It tells the prehistory of the group that later became known as the RAF. The film was part of the official competition program of the Berlin International Film Festival „Berlinale“ 2011. In 2011 Diehl shot CONFESSION OF A CHILD OF THE CENTURY together with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Pete Doherty, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2012 in the series „Un certain regard“. In winter/spring 2012, he starred in LAYLA FOURIE directed by Pia Marias in South Africa, which had its world premiere at the 2013 Berlinale. He also appeared in 2012 for Bille August's international co-production NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON, which also had its world premiere at the 2013 Berlinale. His feature films continue to include DARK DIAMOND by Arthur Harari, THE YOUNG KARL MARX (Raoul Beck, 2015), ALLIED (Robert Zemeckis, 2916), PLAN A (Yadav and Dorn Paz, 2019), DER RÄUBER HOTZENPLOTZ (Michael Krummenacher, 2021), The Ice Tower / La Tour de Glace (2024, Lucile Hadzihalilovich), The Disappearance of Mengele (2023, Kirill Serebrennikow) and Sidonie in Japan (2022, Élise Girard), among others.
With the leading role of Franz Jägerstätter in Terrence Malick's A HIDDEN LIFE (2016), August Diehl was back at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, this time in competition.
In special TV and streaming productions like PARFUM (Philipp Kadelbach, 2017, Netflix/ZDF), DIE NEUE ZEIT (Lars Krause, ZDF, 2018), Tatort - Borowski und das Haupt der Medusa (2024, Lars Kraume, ARD), Der Pass (2022, Staffel 3, Sky), Der Parfumeur (2021, Netflix) he played essential and leading roles.
With DER PRINZ VON HOMBURG, directed by Andrea Breth in Vienna and Salzburg, he returned to the big theater stage in 2012. The stimulating theater work with Andrea Breth found a brilliant continuation with HAMLET at Vienna's Burgtheater (for which he received the 2014 Vienna Theater Prize Nestroy) in an acclaimed six-hour production. Also at the Burg, he can be seen in DAS GEISTERHAUS, and at the Vienna Akademietheater he is part of the ensemble of John Hopkin's DIE GESCHICHTE VON IHNEN. He recently collaborated with Andrea Breth for EINES LANGEN TAGES REISE IN DIE NACHT (Burgtheater Wien, 2018), DREI MAL LEBEN (Berliner Ensemble, since 2019), and recently in MEDEA (Burgtheater Wien, 2023) and DIE WIEDERVEREINIGUNG DER BEIDEN KOREAS (Berliner Ensemble,2023).
Moritz Bleibtreu is a German actor born on August 13, 1971 in Munich growing up in Hamburg. He first appears in children's television series Neues aus Uhlenbusch (1977) at the age of six. His breakthrough was the role called "Abdul" in the movie Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997). He also became internationally known for his work on Run Lola Run (1998), The Experiment (2001) and World War Z (2013). In Germany, He is well known for the classic stoner-movie called Lammbock (2001) in which he plays the leading role. He speaks fluent German, English, French and Italian and is the son of Austrian actors Hans Brenner and Monica Bleibtreu.
Born in the Brandenburg town of Cottbus , Nadine Heidenreich started her artistic career at the age of 7, singing and dancing on East German Television. After graduation she first learned "something useful" and became a physiotherapist. Afterwards she finally followed her real passion and studied acting, singing and dancing at the "Stage School Hamburg" and at the renowned "Lee Strasberg Institute New York". Her variety is her strength and so she works not only as an actress, but also sings successfully in a Funk- & Soulband, moderates the TV Show ZiBB at TV Channel RBB and is a sought-after voice for synchronization and audio-books. Through her young-fresh charisma on the one hand and her serious-elegant appearance on the other hand, Nadine can be casted for a wide range of characters. Whether as a caring mother, a sharp-witted doctor, an absentminded artist or a sporty police officer... Nadine knows her skills, loves acting and gives a special life to every character she's playing. Nadine is married, has a daughter and lives in Berlin.
David Jonsson trained at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first professional roles were on London’s Almeida and West End stages – in Rob Icke directed MARY STUART opposite Lia Williams and Juliet Stephenson, and then Patrick Marber’s DON JUAN IN SOHO opposite David Tennant.
In TV, early work includes DEEP STATE for Fox, and more recently he plays GUS in the critically acclaimed HBO/BBC series INDUSTRY. He performed a one man stage play AND BREATHE at London’s Almeida Theatre in 2021 – for which he Best Male Actor at the British Black Theatre Awards that year.
He just wrapped on PRAY for BBC Films, written and directed by Caleb Azumah-Nelson, and is attached to play the lead role of Chris Eubank in David Harewood directed feature BENN vs EUBANK. David plays the co-lead in RYE LANE for Fox Searchlight which is due for release in 2023.
Flula Borg was born and raised in Erlangen, Germany, where he started his performance career as a traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler dancer. He transitioned quickly into becoming a techno DJ, and after being voted the 3rd Sexiest North Bavarian Male, he worked up the nerve to submit for the Scion National Hypeman Contest, which he unintentionally won. Encouraged by his unexpected good fortune, he relocated to Los Angeles, California, to continue growing his music and acting career. To grab Hollywood's attention, Flula turned to YouTube to share his original songs, creative remixes, and late night vlogs about American culture and language, quickly amassing over 750k subscribers, 100 million views, and earning recognition as one of Variety's "Ten Comics to Watch." Several of his videos went viral -- including "Jennifer Is A Party Pooper" -- which led to a series of TV appearances on programs like The Today Show and ESPN's SportsCenter, giving him the springboard he needed to launch his acting career.
Borg's breakout role came in Universal Pictures' "Pitch Perfect 2" opposite Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick as the male lead of Das Sound Machine. Flula reprised this role for Peacock's "Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin," which has been renewed for a second season. Soon after, Flula transitioned into true bad guy territory with his role as Javelin in James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad," eating 6,000 calories a day and getting yelled at by celebrity trainer Paolo Mascitti for months in order to achieve a supervillain body. To support the film Borg released "SuperVillain," a techno-dance EP with music inspired by The Suicide Squad featuring vocals from Reggie Watts, Sean Gunn (aka Weasel), and Steve Agee (aka John Economos). Flula's unique vocal stylings have also allowed him to break into the voice acting space with memorable roles in features such as Fox Pictures' "Ferdinand," Disney's "Ralph Breaks the Internet," and Apple's "Luck," as well as dozens of appearances in shows like "Archer," "Rugrats," and as Comfortable Doug in Netflix's "Centaurworld."
His ever-growing list of small screen credits includes HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Silicon Valley," Comedy Central's "Workaholics" and "@Midnight," Conan O'Brien's frequently excitable guest on TBS's "Conan," CBS's "Ghosts," and the recurring role of Skip Tracer Randy in ABC's "The Rookie." Flula has started producing projects, including Orion Pictures' "Buddymoon," which he starred in and executive produced. It went on to win Slamdance Film Festival, Las Vegas Film Festival, and several others. Borg's upcoming projects include playing the historical figure Hans von Dohnanyi in the WWII feature "God's Spy" directed by Todd Komarnicki, a German baddie in Amazon's "My Spy: The Eternal City" starring Dave Bautista and Anna Faris, Pieter Kramer in season two of "Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin," and roles in several animated projects. Flula lives (mostly) in Los Angeles and is deathly afraid of toy poodles.
Clarke Peters is an actor, singer, writer, and director whose career spans over four decades. He can be seen in the feature biopic WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY and in Todd Komarnicki's thriller GOD SPY. Most recently, Clarke can be seen in the TV series TRUE LOVE opposite Lindsay Duncan and in ERIC for Netflix with Benedict Cumberbatch.
Clarke is currently filming for upcoming TV series TOWARDS ZERO for the BBC.
Further TV credits include THE IRREGULARS, HIS DARK MATERIALS, LA FORTUNA, FOUNDATION, SHOW ME A HERO, THE DEUCE, THE BLACKLIST, TRUE DETECTIVE, JERICHO, and JESSICA JONES among others.
Film credits include; THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI, HARRIET and Spike Lee's DA 5 BLOODS (for which he was nominated for 2021 BAFTA and NAACP Image awards.
He is well-known for playing Lester Freamon on HBO TV series THE WIRE, as well as Albert Lambreaux on TREME.
Theatre credits include; KING LEAR at the Almeida, RACE at the Hampstead Theatre, THE AMERICAN CLOCK at the The Old Vic, THE ROYALE at The Lincoln Centre Theatre and CHICAGO at The Adelphi Theatre.
Aside from his acting credits, Clarke is also an accomplished director and musical book writer, most notably for FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE.
Born in 1993 in Düsseldorf, Patrick Moelleken is a German actor with over 100 film and TV credits. Beginning his stage career at age five, he landed his first TV role at ten. Recognized for his work on critically acclaimed films such as "King Laurin", "Rommel", and the 2020 Academy Awards® contender short film "Malou", his portrayal of German-Jewish national socialist Michael Glickstein in the period drama "The Last Supper" captivated audiences. Patrick also stars in Amazon Prime Video’s "SZKB". He has voiced numerous audiobooks and radio dramas, earning the German Audiobook Award in 2010 for "Ways To Live Forever". His anti-racism video "Aber", created with Eko Fresh, became a viral hit and earned the Web Video Award Special Prize for Social Responsibility by the European Union. Alongside his acting career, Patrick combines his passion for social causes with producing work and an entrepreneurial background. He serves as an ambassador for the EU’s klicksafe initiative and as a board member for the German AIDS Foundation. Patrick is fluent in English, German, and Spanish.
Todd Komarnicki is a prolific writer and producer of film and television as well as an acclaimed novelist.
Komarnicki's screenplays include Sully directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks, which opened at #1 in the box office to rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. The film went on to earn over $240 million worldwide, and was a 2016 AFI Top Ten Film. The Professor and the Madman, starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. Komarnicki has also written Perfect Stranger starring Bruce Willis and Halle Berry. God's Spy, the true life story of pastor-turned-spy Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Heart, the true story of the only professional athlete to ever play with a transplanted heart, which Todd is set to direct.
In television, Komarnicki has written pilots for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, TNT, and Netflix.
Komarnicki is also the president and founder of the production and management company Guy Walks Into A Bar. Komarnicki and Guy Walks partner Jon Berg produced the Christmas blockbuster Elf, starring Will Ferrell and directed by Jon Favreau. The film amassed over $220 million worldwide, and has become a perennial favorite every Christmas season.
Komarnicki lived in New York City with his wife, Jane, and their daughter, Remy, and son, Dashiell.
Camille Kampouris is a native of Washington D.C, and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Catholic University of America. Soon after graduating college, Ms. Kampouris moved to New York City to pursue a career in the performing arts and worked mainly in improvisational comedy for the next 5 years creating and honing lots of characters and voices.
In 1985 she auditioned for The Muppets and after a brief but intense period of training became a lead Muppeteer with Jim Henson’s Muppets where she worked for 14 years and Sesame Street where she performed in 10 Seasons until she retired in 1998. Her characters include Meryl Sheep, Ruby Monster, Goldilocks, Clementine and the Countess, to name a few, along with the many voices of characters in Sesame Street’s fractured fairy tales, movie parodies and the Monster Piece Theater sketches.
In 2002, she co-founded the Kairos Journal with her husband Emmanuel A. Kampouris, to support, encourage and help pastors on public square issues and in 2000 they founded Biblemesh, an online theological training site which will soon add The Alexandrian Institute for theological graduate studies.
In 2018 Ms. Kampouris together with her husband added Producing to their resumes with the release of Funny You Never Knew, a documentary about 3 comedians from the 1950’s, Odysseus Returns, a documentary on the probable location of Homer’s Odysseus’ tomb ( a man once thought to exist only in mythology) soon to be aired on PBS, and the movie, Bonhoeffer, the heroic story of WWII pastor and member of the plot to assassinate Hitler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Mr. Kampouris is the retired Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of American Standard Companies, Inc., a leading global manufacturer, operating in 34 countries. Its products include technologically advanced products in air conditioning systems (Trane), bathroom and kitchen fixtures and fittings, and vehicle control systems (Westinghouse Airbrake).
In 1999 Mr. Kampouris capped his 35-year career with American Standard by leading the company to record sales of $7.2 billion.
Mr. Kampouris has served on the boards of Inc., Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Alticor Inc. (Amway Corp.) Stanley Black and Decker, Click Commerce, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1994- 2001) and the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships. He is also a member of the Economic Club of New York, Oxford University Council for the School of Management Studies, and the Oxford Law Society.
In 2000 he founded the Kairos Journal, an online Magazine which seeks to embolden, educate, equip, and support pastors and church leaders as they strive to transform the moral conscience of their culture and restore the prophetic voice of the Church.
In 2008 Mr. Kampouris launched his latest initiative, BibleMesh, an on- line Theological training site, in an effort to address biblical illiteracy worldwide. This year Biblemesh will be adding the Alexandrian Institute for Theological graduate studies.
Mr. Kampouris earned an MA in law from Oxford University, Oxford, England and a degree in Ceramic Technology from North Staffordshire College of Technology, Stoke-on-Kent, England.
John Scanlon lives and works as general counsel of a green fuels company in Pinedale, Wyoming. He also works in the film industry in various capacities, including as a producer.
John has served as general counsel to three companies, helped launch, finance and operate several businesses, and has worked on over 100 film and television projects. He was the founding general counsel of Pedestal, an online trading platform owned by Deutsche Bank, Reuters and Battery Ventures; of Federal City Bancorp; and of Culture11, an online media company.
He began his legal career at Davis Polk & Wardwell and Latham & Watkins, where he advised on securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions.
John earned his J.D. at Georgetown, where he was associate editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, and his B.A. from the University of California, Davis (Phi Beta Kappa).
He paid his way through college working as a professional firefighter/EMT.
His film credits include BONHOEFFER (Producer), CLEMENTE (Producer), and HONOR FLIGHT (Legal Counsel).
Mark began his career based in London, producing iconic music videos and commercials for Partizan, then one of the most diverse and award-winning production companies in the world. At age 28 he produced his first feature film in Chicago, spending a year in the trenches of low budget filmmaking. Having completed the film, he returned to the UK to join the international production company, Believe Media and in 2000 established and opened their European headquarters in London. During his twenty-year tenure with Believe as its global executive producer, he produced commercials and music videos all over the world, including massive global campaigns, for leading directors such as Zack Snyder and Floria Sigismondi, while also producing several independent feature films.
In 2018, Mark left Believe Media to form his own UK-based production company Dog Eat Dog with his producing partner Harvey Miles Ascott, who at the young age of 28, had recently received his first Oscar nomination. Since its inception, Dog Eat Dog’s film, television, and commercial productions have been consistent award winners at Cannes, D&AD, Clio, Eurobest, and The One Show. Just one year into its existence Dog Eat Dog was voted top 5 production company in the UK and top ten globally by the Little Black Book Creative industry peer poll. Dog Eat Dog continues to actively build its roster of filmmakers while creating content, opening satellite offices in Berlin and Los Angeles.
In 2022, Mark financed and completed production on JERICHO RIDGE, filmed in Kosovo, starring Nikki Amuka Bird. Mark’s decades of experience constantly producing in dozens of territories all over the world exposed a need for a centralized, efficient, reliable vehicle for international production. Thus in 2022 he founded In Plain Sight Group with Richard Caleel to fill that need. Mark has recently stepped off the set of the 25 million dolllar budget thriller feature Bonhoeffer , which he produced. Set in Berlin during the time of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer starring Jonas Dassler, August Diehl and Clarke Peters. Dietrich Bonhoeffer fought against the church who aligned themselves with Hitler, while speaking truth to power, in his attempt to save countless Jewish lives Bonhoeffer ultimately payed the price by losing his own life at the hands of the Nazi’s. Bonhoeffer filmed in both Belgium and Ireland over 8 weeks and is now in post-production.