Press Detail

Fugitive Pieces

Synopsis (Short)

FUGITIVE PIECES is a powerful, poetic, and emotionally-charged drama
about love, loss and redemption. The film tells the story of Jakob Beer, a
man whose life is haunted by his childhood experiences during WWII. As a
child in Poland he is orphaned during wartime then saved by a
compassionate Greek archeologist. Over the course of his life, he attempts
to deal with the losses he has endured. Through his writing, and then
through the discovery of true love, Jakob is ultimately freed from the legacy
of his past. FUGITIVE PIECES is based on the beloved best-selling novel by
award-winning writer Anne Michaels.

Written and directed by Jeremy Podeswa and produced by Robert Lantos,
FUGITIVE PIECES is a Canada/Greece co-production between Canada’s
Serendipity Point Films, Athens-based Cinegram S.A. and Strada Productions.
The film is co-produced by Sandra Cunningham, Dionyssis Samiotis and Takis
Veremis. The film is financed by Serendipity Point Films, Telefilm Canada,
Astral Media, Corus Entertainment, The Harold Greenberg Fund and the
Ontario Media Development Corporation.

Synopsis (Long)

A powerful and unforgettably lyrical film about love, loss and redemption, FUGITIVE PIECES tells the story of Jakob Beer, a man whose life is transformed by his childhood experiences during WWII. The film is based on the beloved and best-selling novel by Canadian poet Anne Michaels. Jakob’s story (Robbie Kay) begins in Poland in 1942, when he is nine years old. Nazi soldiers have murdered his parents and abducted his teenage sister, Bella. Traumatized by this horrific event, Jakob sneaks out of his hiding place and struggles to survive. He is found by Athos Rouses (Rade Sherbedgia), a Greek archaeologist working at a Polish dig site in Biskupin. Moved by the child’s plight, Athos boldly smuggles Jakob out of Poland and hides him in his home on the island of Zakynthos in Greece, also occupied by the Germans. Jakob spends the last years of the Occupation in Athos’ tender care. After the war, Athos and Jakob immigrate to Canada, where Athos has accepted a teaching position with a University. As he matures, Jakob (now played by Stephen Dillane) begins a new life, studying, writing, and eventually falling in love with Alex (Rosamund Pike), a beautiful young woman. Yet he remains haunted by his parents' death and the question of his sister's fate. This terrible burden makes it impossible for him to live in the moment or to accept love when it is offered to him. Writing offers some relief, but it is not until he meets Michaela (Ayelet Zurer), a gentle soul who truly understands -- and accepts -- his pain, that Jakob allows himself to join the living. The lessons he learns become a legacy to Ben (Ed Stoppard), a child of survivors whose life intersects with Jakob’s in meaningful ways. Written and directed by Jeremy Podeswa and produced by Robert Lantos,FUGITIVE PIECES is a Canada/Greece co-production between Canada’s Serendipity Point Films, Athens-based Cinegram S.A. and Strada Productions. The film is co-produced by Sandra Cunningham, Dionyssis Samiotis and Takis Veremis. The film is financed by Serendipity Point Films, Telefilm Canada, Astral Media, Corus Entertainment, The Harold Greenberg Fund and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.