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Elevation Pictures has boarded as Canadian theatrical distributor Jason Lapeyre’s World War II hybrid documentary “The Auschwitz Volunteer,” the true story of Witold Pilecki, a Polish soldier who volunteers to go to a Nazi
prison camp and start a resistance movement from the inside.
Written, produced and set to be directed by Lapeyre, the project is currently in the late development, packaging and financing stage and headed for the Vancouver International Film Festival’s newly established Business Hub Co-Production Forum, to launch its first edition at VIFF.
Lapeyre’s credits as director, producer and screenwriter include “Monkey on a Stick,” a documentary exposé of the Hare Krishna movement; “I Declare War,” which screened in Toronto, won the audience award at Fantastic Fest, and was released theatrically by Drafthouse Films; and “Cold Blooded,” which won Best Canadian Film at Fantasia.
The film is based on the book “The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery,” the published military report written by Pilecki upon escaping from the camp. The story follows Pilecki as he arrives at Auschwitz, where he stays for two and a half years helping his fellow prisoners before finally breaking out in an astonishing escape. While there, he witnesses the evolution of Auschwitz into a death camp.
“This will be the first ever English-language telling of Polish Captain Witold Pilecki’s unbelievable story of resistance to an authoritarian regime,” Lapeyre told Variety.
“‘The Auschwitz Volunteer’ draws on my background as a dramatic filmmaker and having the unique resource of Pilecki’s own words bearing witness to his time in the camp to take a highly original approach to the documentary. This hybrid doc/drama approach will convey the horror of the Nazis’ terror campaign, describe the evolution of Auschwitz into the worst centre of the Holocaust, and jar audiences into asking if we are heading down the same road towards history repeating itself.”
Lapeyre is looking to cast a high profile actor to portray Pilecki in a fictionalized interview based on the soldier’s military report on his time at Auschwitz.
Lapeyre noted that Elevation company president “Noah Segal is hugely supportive of the movie and it’s been an incredible jolt of momentum.”
Based in British Columbia, Lapeyre is producing via his Osaka Sunset Pictures along with Priscilla Galvez, with Michael Roiff (“Don’t Say Good Luck,” “Waitress”) executive producing.
Osaka Sunset’s productions have included “The Captured Bird,” the debut horror short by Jovanka Vuckovic (“Riot Girls,” “XX”), executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. The company is currently developing multiple feature and documentary projects for film and television, including “Genus,” a horror feature starring Camille Sullivan (“Shelby Oaks”), and “Ring Leader,” a horror feature starring and produced with Vanessa Marano (“Saving Zoë”), which was recently selected for the Frontières Co-Production Market at the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival.
The VIFF Co-Production Forum runs Oct. 3-4 during the festival, which takes place Oct. 1-11.
