Focus Features to Release Luke Holland’s Documentary ‘Final Account’

LOS ANGELES, CA – January 27, 2021 – Coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Focus Features and Participant today announced their latest collaboration in FINAL ACCOUNT, the documentary that was filmed, directed and produced by the late Luke Holland (I Was a Slave Labourer, Good Morning Mr. Hitler) over the course of ten years. FINAL ACCOUNT, an urgent portrait of the last living generation of everyday people to participate in Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, had its premiere at the 2020 Venice Film Festival and in addition to Holland is produced by John Battsek and Riete Oord. Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann executive produced, along with Andrew Ruhemann of Passion Pictures and Claire Aguilar. Focus Features has worldwide rights excluding Israel, and will distribute the film this year in the U.S. on May 21 and Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally.

Over a decade in the making, FINAL ACCOUNT raises vital, timely questions about authority, conformity, complicity and perpetration, national identity, and responsibility, as men and women ranging from former SS members to civilians in never-before-seen interviews reckon with – in very different ways – their memories, perceptions and personal appraisals of their own roles in the greatest human crimes in history.

Producers John Battsek and Riete Oord commented jointly, saying: “We couldn’t be prouder to have worked with Luke Holland on this film, which is a testament to him and his vision and talent as a filmmaker. It is our combined responsibility to make sure this film – his legacy – reaches as many people as possible, and we are thrilled to have Focus Features come on board with Participant and the entire filmmaking team in making that a reality.”

Focus chairman Peter Kujawski said, “Luke Holland and the team at Participant have given the world a vital look into history. This film will serve as a record that helps us better understand the most tragic of moments in human history, but it also reminds us to contemplate how fragile the tapestry of civility always is and how severe the consequences become when any one of us, our friends or neighbors are willing to make the easy choice instead of the right one.”

“Final Account represents a decade-long commitment by Luke Holland to acknowledge and preserve history, and we are thrilled to be working with our friends and partners at Focus Features in bringing this vitally relevant and timely film to audiences worldwide,” said Diane Weyermann, Chief Content Officer for Participant.

Tied to the film’s release, Participant will be working with USC Shoah Foundation – a global organization countering antisemitism and other forms of hatred through testimony – for educational resources on this important film.

ABOUT FOCUS FEATURES

Focus Features acquires and produces specialty films for the global market and holds a library of iconic movies, with 127 Academy Award Nominations and 25 wins from fearless filmmakers. Upcoming and current releases from Focus include the Kevin Costner and Diane Lane led Let Him Go; Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller Last Night in Soho from Working Title; Promising Young Woman produced by LuckyChap Entertainment; comedy Half Brothers from director Luke Greenfield; Robin Wright’s feature directorial debut Land starring Wright and co-star Demián Bichir; acclaimed filmmaker Morgan Neville’s upcoming documentary on Anthony Bourdain; and Dawn Porter’s The Way I See It on former Chief White House photographer Pete Souza. Universal Pictures International has led distribution in select markets for titles including Let Him Go; Last Night in Soho; Half Brothers; Land; Untitled Anthony Bourdain documentary; and The Way I See It.

Focus is part of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG), which produces, acquires, markets and distributes filmed entertainment worldwide in various media formats for theatrical, home entertainment, television and other distribution platforms. UFEG’s global division also includes Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and DreamWorks Animation. UFEG is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

For more information please visit www.focusfeatures.com

ABOUT PARTICIPANT

Founded by Jeff Skoll and under the leadership of CEO David Linde, Participant (www.participant.com) combines the power of a good story well told with real world impact and awareness around today’s most vital issues. Through its worldwide network of traditional and digital distribution, aligned with partnerships with key non-profit and NGO organizations, Participant speaks directly to the rise of today’s “conscious consumer,” representing the well over 2 billion consumers compelled to make meaningful content a priority focus.

As an industry content leader, Participant annually produces up to six narrative feature films, six documentary films, three episodic television series, and more than 30 hours of digital short form programming. Participant’s more than 100 films have collectively earned 74 Academy Award® nominations and 19 wins, including Best Picture for Spotlight and Green Book; Best Documentary Feature for An Inconvenient Truth, The Cove, CITIZENFOUR and American Factory; and Best Foreign Language Film for Roma and A Fantastic Woman. Follow Participant on Twitter (@Participant) and on Facebook and Instagram.