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It’s safe to say that films dealing with the Holocaust have a higher bar than most. The subject is so momentous that any efforts not reaching a certain level of quality can come across as exploitative. Lior Geller’s independent feature doesn’t reach those heights, but it redeems itself with the obvious care that’s gone into it, the excellent performances and cinematography, and the fact that it deals with an unfortunately little-known story that needed to be told. As such, The World Will Tremble earns its place in a very crowded genre.

The story begins in 1942 Poland in the Chelmno extermination camp, the first of its kind to be devoted exclusively to the mass murder of Jews. We’re introduced to several prisoners, including Solomon Wiener (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Invisible Man), Michael Podchlebnik (Jeremy Neumark Jones, Granchester) and Wolf (Charlie MacGechan, We Die Young).

The camp’s seemingly friendly commandant,...

The World Will Tremble tells the harrowing true story of the Jewish prisoners who escaped the Chełmno Nazi death camp in Poland and delivered the first eyewitness account of the Holocaust during World War II. Writer/director Lior Geller pulls no punches, recreating in barbaric detail the systemic brutality, mass murder, and vile atrocities of the 20th century's most horrifying crime against humanity in its nascent stage. The World Will Tremble is a deeply troubling experience that rattles to the core, but must be seen as a reminder of our worst instincts. Geller's superb camerawork and production design makes up for scenes with questionably written dialogue that unfortunately doesn't match the realism of the graphic visuals.

Work or Extermination

On January 19, 1942, in a Polish forest adjacent to Chełmno, Solomon Weiner (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) struggles to walk through dense mud. His left shoe is torn open. The Nazi guards beat him.

"As long as we're still breathing there is hope." Vertical has unveiled an official trailer for a film titled The World Will Tremble, yet another Holocaust thriller about an "untold true story" from World War II. This recently premiered at the 2025 Miami Jewish Film Festival, and it will be out to watch in March in theaters. The incredible story of how a group of prisoners attempt a seemingly impossible escape from the first Nazi death camp in order to tell people about what was happening. It's about Solomon Weiner (played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen) & Michael Podchlebnik (played by Jeremy Neumark Jones) who attempt a seemingly impossible escape from the first Nazi death camp to give the first eyewitness account of the Holocaust. They were imprisoned at Chełmno (Google Maps), the first of six extermination camps established by the Nazis, located in Poland about 300 miles from Majdanek, the camp seen in Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain.

Oliver Jackson-Cohen in ‘The World Will Tremble’ (Photo Credit: Vertical)

Writer-director Lior Geller’s The World Will Tremble has been picked up by Vertical for theatrical release. Vertical announced they’re targeting a March 14, 2025 launch.

Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Wilderness), Jeremy Neumark Jones (The Feed), Charlie MacGechan (Pennyworth), and Michael Epp (The Brutalist) star. David Kross (The Reader), Michael Fox (Downton Abbey), and Anton Lesser (Game of Thrones) also star.

“The World Will Tremble tells the story of Solomon Weiner (Jackson-Cohen) and Michael Podchlebnik (Neumark Jones) who attempt a seemingly impossible escape from the first Nazi death camp in order to provide the first eyewitness account of the Holocaust,” reads Vertical’s synopsis.

The acquisition gives Vertical distribution rights everywhere except Israel and Bulgaria.

“We are proud to release Lior’s feature about the incredible true story of this heroic escape that alerted the world to the events of the Holocaust. Today...

The World Will Tremble, a historical drama about an escape from a Nazi death camp, has been acquired for worldwide distribution by Vertical.

Tremble is the second feature-length release by Israeli-American writer-director Lior Geller, whose 2008 short, Roads, holds the Guinness World Record for most awards won by a short student film.

“We are proud to release Lior’s feature about the incredible true story of this heroic escape that alerted the world to the events of the Holocaust,” says Vertical’s senior vice president of acquisitions Tony Piantedosi. The film is slated to open March 14.

The announcement comes on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, amid historic levels of heightened antisemitism, incidents of which have doubled worldwide since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

Tremble stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Amazon’s Wilderness) and Jeremy Neumark Jones (Netflix’s Kleo) as Solomon Weiner and Michael Podchlebnik, two Jewish prisoners who escaped the Chelmno extermination camp and...

“The Invisible Man” star Oliver Jackson-Cohen and “Grantchester’s” Jeremy Neumark Jones have been tapped to lead upcoming World War II feature “The World Will Tremble.”

Written and directed by Lior Geller, the film tells the true story of a group pf prisoners who broke out of the Third Reich’s first Nazi death camp, Chelmno.

Jackson-Cohen plays Solomon Wiener while Neumark Jones takes on the role of Michael Podchlebnik.

They are joined by Anton Lesser (“Andor”), David Kross (“The Reader”), Michael Fox (“Dunkirk”), Charlie MacGechan (“We Die Young”), Michael Epp (“The Beekeeper”), Danny Scheinmann (“Stan & Ollie”), Tim Bergmann and George Lenz.

Of the more than 320,000 Jews sent Chelmno, only four are known to have survived. Two of them attempted an escape — Wiener and Podchlebnik – to expose the truth and bear witness to the barbarity they witnessed.

Geller spent a decade researching and writing the film and renowned historian Dr.