Professional Motion Picture Production and Distribution NEWS

Drama Will Air on Holocaust Remembrance Day on PBS



(Boston) A new adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank will premiere this spring on Masterpiece Classic on PBS. The two-hour film will air on the Emmy-winning drama series on April 11, 2010, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a modern literary classic and an extraordinary social document that gives a unique account of life in hiding under Nazi terror in World War II from the perspective of a teenage Jewish girl. Since its publication more than 50 years ago, it has become the world's most widely read work of non-fiction after the Bible.

"Every generation needs to look at Anne from its own perspective," says Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "In this new Masterpiece adaptation, viewers will see Anne as a bright, charming, and difficult teenager -- and as the gifted writer she was destined to become."

Newcomer Ellie Kendrick's portrayal of Anne won rave reviews from UK critics ("She captures Anne's lively, girlish spirit to perfection," wrote the Times). The cast also includes Iain Glen (Into the Storm) and Tamsin Greig (Shaun of the Dead) as Anne's father and mother, Otto and Edith Frank.

For this new adaptation, screenwriter Deborah Moggach received permission to use passages of the diaries previously excised by the family. To add to the film's authenticity, the production team painstakingly recreated the annex where the Frank family lived for two years.

Like many Masterpiece Classic productions, The Diary of Anne Frank broadcast will be complemented by an ambitious outreach effort that will include free online materials available for middle- and high-school English, history, and media-studies teachers, as well as for Book & Film Clubs. More information will become available on pbs.org/masterpiece/learn.

Since its first broadcast in 1971, Masterpiece has won 50 primetime Emmys, including seven this year, which is the most for any single program on broadcast or cable television.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a Darlow Smithson Production (an IMG Media company), presented on PBS by Masterpiece. The director is Jon Jones. The screenwriter is Deborah Moggach (Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley). The producer is Elinor Day. Masterpiece is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. The executive producer is Rebecca Eaton. Funding for Masterpiece is provided by public television viewers.

Resources:
WGBH
Masterpiece
PBS
www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece