Monster Dash: No Escaping Serebrennikov’s “The Disappearance” for August Diehl

A long-gestating project that was perhaps put on hold while Kirill Serebrennikov was fighting to not have to rot in a Russian jail, production on The Disappearance will commence right after next year’s Cannes. Variety reports that August Diehl will take on the role of the real-life filth Josef Mengele aka the Angel of Death. CG Cinema’s Charles Gillibert and long-time producer Ilya Stewart from Hype Studios are backing the project.

Tchaikovsky’s Wife (read review) premiered in Cannes this summer and its currently playing on the film fest circuit while the just completed Limonov is expected to drop at next year’s Cannes Film Festival — so Serebrennikov will be part of the world cinema conversation this entire half decade. The Disappearance will shoot in Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico and Germany. Co-producers include Scala Films’ Mélanie Biessy, Lupa Film’s Felix von Boehm and Piano’s Julio Chavezmontes. Based on Olivier Guez’s novel, this is about the the notorious Nazi doctor who found refuge in South America at the end of WWII and was never captured.