The Disappearance of Josef Mengele (film)

Upcoming historical drama film

The Disappearance of Josef Mengele

German| Das Verschwinden des Josef Mengele
Directed by| Kirill Serebrennikov
Written by| Kirill Serebrennikov
Based on| The Disappearance of Josef Mengele by Olivier Guez
Produced by|

* Mélanie Biessy
* Julio Chavezmontes
* Christopher Cooper
* Charles Gillibert
* Abigail Honor
* Ilya Stewart
* Yan Vizinberg
* Felix von Boem

Starring|

* August Diehl
* Max Bretschneider
* David Ruland
* Dana Herfurth
* Burghart Klaussner
* Rodrigo Costa Pereyra

Cinematography| Vladislav Opelyants
Edited by| Hansjörg Weißbrich
Music by| Ilya Demutsky

Production
companies

* Hype Studio
* CG Cinéma
* Lupa Films
* Arte France Cinéma
* Scala Films
* Forma Pro Films

Distributed by|

* Bac Films (France)[1]
* DCM (Germany)

Release date

* May 20, 2025 (2025-05-20) (Cannes)

Running time

| 135 minutes
Countries|

* France
* Germany
* United Kingdom
* Spain

Language| German

The Disappearance of Josef Mengele (German: Das Verschwinden des Josef Mengele) is a 2025 German-language historical drama film written and directed by Kirill Serebrennikov. Based on the 2017 non-fiction novel of the same name by Olivier Guez, it stars August Diehl as Nazi SS doctor Josef Mengele.[2]

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Premiere section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2025.[3][4]

## Cast

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* August Diehl as Josef Mengele
* Max Bretschneider
* David Ruland
* Dana Herfurth
* Burghart Klaussner
* Rodrigo Costa Pereyra

Olivier Guez and Kirill Serebrennikov at 2025 Cannes

## Production

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### Development

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In October 2022, it was announced that Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov was planning to make a film based on The Disappearance of Josef Mengele by Olivier Guez, with German actor August Diehl performing the role of Mengele.[5] In 2023, the film was being produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinéma and Ilya Stewart at Hype Studio with Gillibert having brought the project to Stewart and the project in development for many years as Serebrennikov was under house arrest in Russia.[6] Also on board the film were Kinology with Felix von Boem at Lupa Films, Arte France Cinéma, Mélanie Biessy with Scala Films, Forma Pro Films and Cimarron coproducing the film with Piano.[7]

The cast includes Max Bretschneider, David Ruland, Dana Herfurth and Burghart Klaussner.[8]

### Filming

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Principal photography took place in Uruguay and Latvia.[9][8] It was reported by Variety that filming had been completed by December 2024.[10]

## References

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1. ^ Staff, Screen Daily. "Full Cannes Film Festival 2025 lineup with sales info - updating". Screen Daily. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
2. ^ "DAS VERSCHWINDEN DES JOSEF MENGELE (THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOSEF MENGELE)". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
3. ^ "The films of the Official Selection 2025". Festival de Cannes. April 10, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
4. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 78th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
5. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (October 18, 2022). "Fugitive Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele to Be Played by German Star August Diehl in Kirill Serebrennikov's 'The Disappearance' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
6. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (February 20, 2023). "Kirill Serebrennikov's 'The Disappearance' to shoot later this year". Screen Daily. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
7. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (May 18, 2023). "Kinology Boards Kirill Serebrennikov's Next Film 'The Disappearance of Josef Mengele' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
8. ^ a b Janković, Zoran (October 18, 2023). "Latvian and Serbian Companies Attached to Kirill Serebrennikov's New Project Disappearance". Film New Europe. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
9. ^ "Uruguay becomes key destination for international film and TV production companies". El Pais. August 8, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
10. ^ Croll, Ben (December 5, 2024). "'Limonov: The Ballad' Director Kirill Serebrennikov Sets French-Language 'Love Story About Photography' as Next Feature (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2025.

## External links

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* The Disappearance of Josef Mengele at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Kirill Serebrennikov

* Undressed (1998)
* Ragin (2004)
* Playing the Victim (2006)
* Yuri's Day (2008)
* Betrayal (2012)
* The Student (2016)
* Leto (2018)
* Petrov's Flu (2021)
* Tchaikovsky's Wife (2022)
* Limonov: The Ballad (2024)
* The Disappearance of Josef Mengele (2025)

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