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In cinematic form, how do you tell history without archive footage? Occupied City shows how it can be done, and to what effect.

Taking its title from a quote with which Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Anne Frank and her family in Amsterdam during WWII, often ended her speeches later in life, “A Small Light” is the latest engaging, richly detailed biographical drama from National Geographic. Co-creators Joan Rater and Tony Phelan (“Grey’s Anatomy”) find a deeply humanist angle to this well-known piece of history by telling the story of Frank and her family through those who aided them.

Aramide Tinubu The story of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who hid in a cramped attic with her family during the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam, is widely known, and amid the atrocities of the Holocaust, Anne’s diary presents a story of resilience and unrealized dreams. Nat Geo’s new limited series “A Small Light” isn’t Anne’s story, though the precocious teen’s legacy is embedded throughout. The brainchild of former “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunners Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, the series is a tale of resistance, activism and humanity. The narrative centers on one tenacious young woman, Miep Gies, Otto Frank’s secretary, who risked everything to save the Frank family, and countless others. Beautifully shot by Phelan, Susanna Fogel and Leslie Hope, with a slight sepia tone to ground the audience in the time period, the series opens on July 6, 1942, when the Frank family goes into hiding. Miep (Bel Powley) is tasked with getting Otto’s (Liev Schreiber) eldest daughter Margot (Ashley Brooke) through a Nazi checkpoint and into the secret annex above the office building where Miep and Otto work. Quick thinking and determined, Miep ushers the teen to safety via bicycle past the gun-toting and cruel German soldiers. It’s the first of many risks she takes to combat the racist, authoritarian regime.

A Small Light.The eldest sister and bassist in Haim will be joined by composer Ariel Marx in creating the soundtrack to the Disney+ and National Geographic series that focuses on Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who hid Anne Frank and her family during the Holocaust of World War II.According to Billboard, the soundtrack will include covers of classic hits from stars like the bassist’s sister and bandmate Danielle Haim, along with Kamasi Washington, Angel Olsen, Weyes Blood, Remi Wolf and Moses Sumney.The soundtrack will also feature duets between Sharon Van Etten and Sopranos star Michael Imperioli as well as King Princess and Orville Peck.“I can’t begin to express what an honour and a privilege it is to be a part of this series, especially as my first role as an EMP,” shared Este.“Miep’s story is one of a modern woman standing up for what is right, and that should continue to inspire all of us. I am so thrilled to be able to help bring this to life through the power of music,” she added.Each week, two songs from A Small Light will be made available to stream.

Liev Schreiber holds hands with longtime partner Taylor Neisen while arriving for the premiere of his new limited series, A Small Light, in New York City on Tuesday night (April 25).

The first premiere of National Geographic’s A Small Light took place in Amsterdam!

Marta Balaga Miep Gies, as well as her husband Jan, helped hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam, she also saved the girl’s diary. But she never considered herself a hero. “She didn’t want to be put on a pedestal. Her mantra was: ‘I just did what human beings are supposed to do and helped someone in need,’” Bel Powley, who plays Gies in National Geographic series “A Small Light,” said Saturday at Canneseries. The international premiere of the first episode screened at the international series festival in Cannes, followed by an on-stage discussion. Amira Casar, “Peaky Blinders” alumnus Joe Cole, Liev Schreiber and Billie Boullet also star in the eight-episode show, which was co-created by Tony Phelan and Joan Rater.

Chloë Grace Moretz, Julia Roberts, Connie Britton, Sterling K. Brown, Julianna Margulies, Selma Blair, Shonda Rhimes, Andy Cohen, and many other public figures are coming together to support the #LetAmericaRead campaign amid the book bans in some states in America.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Cinematographer Elemér Ragályi, one of the greatest talents of modern Hungarian cinema, died last Thursday. Ragályi was born in 1939 in Hungary, where he graduated at the Academy of Theater and Film with a degree in cinematography. As a cinematographer, he worked with directors such as István Gaál, István Szabó Gyula Gazdag, Judit Elek, Pál Sándor and Ferenc András, innovating in order to give a distinctive look to iconic films. In 1970, Gaál’s “The Falcons” won the Jury Prize of the Cannes Film Festival, in large part thanks to the camerawork of Ragályi.

of Anne Frank, the young woman who kept a diary during her time hiding from the Nazis during World War II and who, along with most of her family, was killed in the Holocaust. But the story you may not be as familiar with is that of Miep Gies, who went to great lengths to hide the Franks and other families for two years. Now Gies's story is coming to the small screen across several Disney properties in the eight-part limited series A Small Light, which as Gies and Liev Schreiber as Otto Frank, Anne's father.

Disney+ and Hulu, and on the Nat Geo TV and ABC apps.Starring Bel Powley as Miep and Liev Schreiber as Otto Frank, “A Small Light” also stars Amira Casar as Edith Frank, Billie Boullet as Anne Frank, Ashley Brooke as Margot Frank, Andy Nyman as Hermann van Pels, Caroline Catz as Auguste van Pels, Rudi Goodman as Peter van Pels and Noah Taylor as Dr. Fritz Pfeffer.

Prime Video’s Rachel Weisz-starrer “Dead Ringers,” Paramount+’s “Fatal Attraction, with Lizzy Caplan, and Joshua Jackson, and Netflix’s awaited French bio “Tapie” pack out a 6th Canneseries which boasts its biggest U.S. presence yet, with titles from nearly all the major global streamers. They join Apple TV+’s already-announced “Silo,” another world premiere. Paramount+ will also be represented by Korean smash hit “Bargain.” The main Competition features seven world premieres, Lewi said at a Paris lineup presentation on Tuesday. 

Schindler’s List director Steven Spielberg, appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert onThursday night, had some chilling words on the rise of public antisemitism in recent years. The director, whose most recent film is the Oscar nominated The Fabelmans, said that “not since Germany in the ‘30s have I witnessed antisemitism no longer lurking, but standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler and Mussolini, kind of daring us to defy it.”

A Small Light, National Geographic’s limited series that depicts the Dutch woman who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank’s family from the Nazis, steers clear of pointing any fingers at the person (or people) who betrayed the family.

With two days to go until Christmas, I can’t think of a better gift for film lovers or those with an interest in iconic forces in the entertainment industry than the 2022 autobiography My Place in the Sun, which chronicles the life of George Stevens Jr — now 90 and still going strong in a remarkable career that has traversed the highest corridors of Hollywood to Washington, D.C.

Light it up! King Charles III, Mayim Bialik and more celebrities are celebrating Hanukkah in style.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Brandon Oldenburg (The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore) will make his feature animation directing debut on Mouschi: The Cat Who Lived with Anne Frank — a new film based on the children’s book The Cat Who Lived with Anne Frank by David Lee Miller (My Suicide) and Steven Jay Rubin (Silent Night).

Lise Pedersen Leading Dutch animation studio Submarine (“They Shot the Piano Player,” “Fox and Hare,” “Where is Anne Frank”) has presented its latest TV series project based on the bestselling Max children’s books at Europe’s industry event for TV series-in-the-making in the south-eastern French city of Toulouse. A pre-school series of 52 seven-minute episodes, “Max” is a character-driven show about a small kitten with a large appetite for adventure, who sees himself as a fearless predator but is just a little ball of fluff. The series will embrace the simple, clear and colourful 2D aesthetic of award-winning British author and illustrator Ed Vere to allow the viewer to focus on the characters. 

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, who originally reported the news. “By the end of today, I need all books pulled from the library and classrooms,” Price, who is Keller ISD’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, reportedly wrote in the email.The action comes after conservative activist parents and school board members challenged the content of these books. Objections reportedly included depictions of the LGBTQ community and perceived links to critical race theory.

The One Show viewers amazed when he appeared on the show on Thursday night. Matt appeared with his mother as he discussed his appearance on the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are, which revealed his family's unexpected connection to Anne Frank. The Little Britain and Great British Bake Off star previously revealed how he had to "do something about his weight" after piling on the pounds during lockdown.

BBC series Who Do You Think You Are tonight, which will reveal his family's unexpected connection to Anne Frank. The Little Britain and Great British Bake Off star previously revealed how he had to "do something about his weight" after piling on the pounds during lockdown. He told ITV's Lorraine that he "had to do something about it".

Emiliano De Pablos Montreal and Madrid-based Pink Parrot Media has picked up international distribution rights to 3D CGI animated feature project “Onca & The Protectors of the Amazon” (aka “Arara and the Guardians of the Amazon”).“Onca” is being brought by Pink Parrot onto Annecy Festival’s MIFA market, where the company will look for financial partners.Aimed at 8-12year-old children family audiences, the feature is written and directed by Colombia’s Vlamyr Vizcaya (“Out of Love”). Its story takes place in the Amazon rainforest and aims to raise environmental awareness.The film co-producers take in Belgium’s Walking The Dog (“Another Day of Life,”  “Where is Anne Frank?”), L.A.

EXCLUSIVE: Amira Casar (The Contractor), Billie Boulet (The Worst Witch) and Ashley Brooke (The Blacklist) are set as series regulars, joining Bel Powley, Liev Schreiber and Joe Cole in A Small Light, a National Geographic limited series that tells the remarkable story of a Dutch woman who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank’s family from the Nazis for more than two years and then preserved Anne’s diary. The project comes from Grey’s Anatomy alums Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, Susanna Fogel, ABC Signature and Keshet Studios.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorPicture Tree Intl. has acquired international sales on “A Whole Life,” which is based on the bestselling novel by Robert Seethaler, and was adapted for the screen by Ulrich Limmer, whose credits include Oscar nominee “Schtonk.”The film is directed by Hans Steinbichler, whose films include Berlin Film Festival entry “The Diary of Anne Frank,” and the third season of pay TV operator Sky’s TV series “Das Boot.” Austrian actor Stefan Gorski takes the lead role.“A Whole Life,” produced by Germany’s Tobis Film and Austria’s Epo-Film, is shooting now and is scheduled for release in the summer or fall next year.The film tells the story of Andreas Egger over eight decades of the last century, a life marked by poverty, war and violence, but also moments of bliss and love.

The streaming wars have led to an excellent time for well-crafted television. The quality of TV shows keeps elevating with compelling dramatic performances from actors from both the worlds of film and television alike as it’s not as taboo these days to move between the two mediums.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBel Powley, Liev Schreiber, and Joe Cole are set to lead the limited drama series “A Small Light” at Disney Plus, Variety has learned.The eight-episode National Geographic series tells the true story of Miep Gies (Powley), who played a critical role in hiding Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis.20-something secretary Gies didn’t hesitate when her boss Otto Frank (Schreiber) asked her to hide him and his family during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan (Cole) and several other everyday heroes watched over the eight souls hiding in the secret annex.

Bel Powley (The Morning Show) has been tapped as the lead and Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan) and Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders) as the co-leads in Disney+’s A Small Light, a National Geographic limited series that tells the remarkable story of a Dutch woman who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank’s family from the Nazis for more than two years and then preserved Anne’s diary. The project comes from Grey’s Anatomy alums Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, Susanna Fogel, ABC Signature and Keshet Studios.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A group of Dutch historians has published an in-depth criticism of the work and conclusion of a cold case team that said it had pieced together the “most likely scenario” of who betrayed Jewish teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family.The cold case team's research, which was published early this year in the book “The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation,” by Canadian academic and author Rosemary Sullivan, immediately drew criticism in the Netherlands.Now, in a 69-page written “refutation,” six historians and academics describe the cold case team’s findings as “a shaky house of cards.” The book's Dutch publisher repeated an earlier apology and announced Tuesday night it was pulling the book from stores.The book said that the person who revealed the location of the Frank family's secret annex hiding place in an Amsterdam canal-side building was likely a prominent Jewish notary, Arnold van den Bergh, who disclosed the location to German occupiers of the Netherlands to save his own family from deportation and death in Nazi concentration camps.The Dutch historians reviewed the team's work and concluded that the “accusation does not hold water.”The historians said the book “displays a distinct pattern in which assumptions are made by the CCT (Cold Case Team), held to be true a moment later, and then used as a building block for the next step in the train of logic.

Ed Meza @edmezavarIn his new documentary, “The Kaiser of Atlantis,” Argentine director Sebastián Alfie tells the story of composer Viktor Ullmann’s chamber opera, about a tyrant bent on waging endless war – written in 1943 in the Nazi concentration camp of Theresienstadt (Terezín) – and, more than 70 years later, a new production of the work in Madrid.Alfie plans to follow up “The Kaiser of Atlantis” — which premieres at the Malaga Festival — with a biopic about Ullmann and the two years he spent imprisoned in Terezín.The director first saw the opera by chance in 2006 at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. “When I read in the playbill that it had been written in a concentration camp, questions began to arise that are the germ of the documentary.