Director Sam Mendes is currently working on his first documentary about the two men who helped liberate concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. More on What They Found below.
Sam Mendes is a busy man. Not only is he working on four different The Beatles biopics – one for each band member – he’s also venturing into the world of documentary filmmaking for the first time.
Deadline reports that Mendes is working on What They Found, a BBC documentary about Sgt Mike Lewis and Sgt Bill Lawrie, British soldiers and cameramen who accompanied a unit to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The unit believed it was a hospital, but quickly realised it was something much more sinister.
Lewis and Lawrie’s footage, which will be used in the documentary, revealed the horrors of the Holocaust to the world.
“Using only the voices and footage shot by two British army cameramen during the latter stages of the Second World War,” Mendes said, “I hope this documentary gives a unique perspective on the discovery of the horrors of Belsen, and the reality of the Holocaust.”
Simon and Jonathan Chinn are producing What They Found through their Lightbox banner. The documentary will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer to mark the 80th anniversary of Bergen-Belsen’s liberation in April 1945.
“Through making What They Found, Sam Mendes has created a powerful and undeniable record of these events at a time when surveys show that more and more young people aren’t aware of the Holocaust, and its veracity is being debated or denied in ever-increasing numbers,” the pair said.
Mendes’s previous film, 1917, took home three Oscars. Set in World War I, it was told through the eyes of two young soldiers, Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman). At the time of ifs release, Mendes spoke to The Guardian about the horrors of World War I.
“People who are attached to some sort of nostalgic vision treat these wars retrospectively as triumphs,” the director said. “In fact, they were tragedies.” His words seem appropriate for World War II as well.
The Deadline article doesn’t mention a specific release date, but since the camp was liberated on 15th April, 1945, it’s safe to assume Mendes’ documentary will air near that date.
