Jake Paltrow’s forthcoming feature film “June Zero” has been picked up for sales by ICM Partners in North America and Films Boutique for the rest of world.
Written by Paltrow and Tom Shoval, “June Zero” explores true stories surrounding the 1962 execution of Adolf Eichmann — one of the key architects of the Holocaust — in Israel through three characters intimately involved in the nation-defining event: David, a precocious thirteen-year-old Libyan factory worker looking to belong; Haim, Eichmann’s main prison guard, tasked with protecting this dead man walking; and the Police Investigative officer of the Eichmann trial, Micha, on his first trip back to Poland since surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau — where he tries to make sense of the future of the Jewish homeland’s soul post-execution.
“June Zero” was shot on Super-16mm film in Israel and Ukraine under strict COVID-19 regulations, and represents writer-director Paltrow’s first foreign language production. The filmmaker’s previous credits include “The Good Night” (2007), “Bad Land: Road to Fury” (2014) and documentary “De Palma” (2015).
“The events unfolding in Ukraine these days are a reminder that, indeed, ‘The past isn’t dead, it isn’t even past,’ and that it’s worth continually trying to find new ways to access and listen to history,” said Paltrow. “‘June Zero’ is an attempt at this. One of the chambers inside the heart of this movie pumps in Kyiv where we filmed part of it, and where several of our crew members are now under this incomprehensible assault.“
Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO and founder of Films Boutique, added: “‘June Zero’ deals with the trial and death of Eichmann but always focuses on the humanity of its three characters and the way they were part of this important historical event. The film is a beautifully crafted and inspiring film that will appeal to international audiences and probably even more these days where we see the importance of not forgetting our recent History. We are extremely proud to be working with Jake on the film and very excited to share it soon with the world.”
Jessica Lacy, partner and head of ICM Independent, added: “Given the gravity of current world events, we are especially proud to represent Jake’s moving and emotional film and look forward to sharing it with audiences across the globe.”
“June Zeo” is produced by Miranda Bailey (“God’s Country”), David Silber (“Incitement”) and Oren Moverman (Emmy Award winner “Bad Education”). Executive producers include Ron Goldman, Amanda Marshall and Jason Beck of Cold Iron Pictures (“God’s Country”), Ewa Puszczyńska (Academy Award winner “Ida”), Moshe Edery of United King Films in Israel, and Rob DeMartin of Postworks in New York.
Co-writer Shoval’s latest film as writer-director, “Shake Your Cares Away” starring Berenice Bejo, shared the prize for best film at the 2021 Jerusalem Film Festival. He created, wrote and directed all episodes of the series “The Echo of Your Voice,” which recently aired on Israel’s KAN network after winning the award for best cast at Series Mania. He made his feature debut with “Youth,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival before being awarded best film at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2013.