The Boy in the Woods — Book Launch
Zoom event
Join us on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, for the book launch of The Boy in the Woods by Holocaust survivor Maxwell Smart. Followed by a short reading and conversation with the author, moderated by Naomi Parness. In partnership with Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at 7 pm
On Zoom – register online
Buy Maxwell’s book here
The Boy in the Woods Summary
Maxwell Smart is eleven years old when his entire family is killed before his eyes. He might have died along with them, but his mother selflessly orders him to save himself. Alone in the forest, he digs a hole in the ground for shelter and forages for food in farmers’ fields. His clothes in rags and close to starvation, he repeatedly escapes death at the hands of Nazis and Ukrainian thugs.

After months alone, Maxwell encounters a boy wandering in the forest looking for food. Janek is also alone; like Maxwell he has just become an orphan, and the two quickly become friends. They build a bunker in the ground to survive through the winter. One day, after a massacre takes place nearby, the boys discover a baby girl, still alive, lying in the arms of her dead mother. Maxwell and Janek rescue the baby, but this act comes at a great cost.

Max’s epic tale of heroism will inspire with its proof of the enduring human spirit. From the brutality of war emerges a man who would become a celebrated artist, offering the world, in contrast to the horrors of his suffering, beautiful works of art. The Boy in the Woods is a remarkable historical document about a time that should never be forgotten.

About the author
MAXWELL SMART was born Oziac Fromm in 1930 in Buczacz, Poland. At age eleven, he was left alone and homeless in war-torn Europe when his family was killed. A father and grandfather, he lives in Montreal with his wife, Tina. Maxwell Smart is still painting at ninety-one.

THE BOY IN THE WOODS
DIRECTOR: REBECCA SNOW (CHEATING HITLER: SURVIVING THE HOLOCAUST)
CAST: JETT KLYNE (DOCTOR STRANGE 'WANDAVISION ' THE BOY) RICHARD ARMITAGE (THE HOBBIT FRANCHISE CAPTAIN AMERICA) CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL (UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN)

The remarkable TRUE survival story of a Jewish boy hiding in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe during WWII. Based on the best-selling memoir THE BOY IN THE WOODS by Maxwell Smart and inspired by the award-winning feature documentary CHEATING HITLER by Rebecca Snow.

STATUS: PRODUCTION
GENRE: BIOPIC, DRAMA, SUSPENSE

WWII Drama ‘The Boy In The Woods’ Starring Jett Kylne And Richard Armitage Starts Production In Canada — AFM
By Zac Ntim

October 31, 2022 6:11am

EXCLUSIVE: Principle photography has begun on the WWII drama The Boy In The Woods, a big-screen adaptation of the wartime novel The Boy in the Woods: A True Story of Survival During the Second World War by Maxwell Smart.

The film is currently shooting in North Bay, Canada.

Rebecca Snow (Cheating Hitler: Surviving the Holocaust) writes and directs the pic for Lumanity and JoBro Production. Myriad Pictures holds worldwide rights (excluding Canada) and will be selling the film at AFM.

Billed as a “true-life, survival story,” the film follows Max, a Jewish boy hiding in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe during WWII. Max is an aspiring artist who escapes death when his selfless mother tells him to run away from the Nazi trucks which they are about to board. He befriends a heroic farmer, Jasko, and his family, who take him in. But with mounting pressure from the police and fear for his own family’s life, Jasko is forced to turn Max away.
Struggling to survive alone in the haunting and deadly woods of eastern Europe, the synopsis continues, Max’s life changes when he meets another young Jewish boy, Janek and together they embark on remarkable adventures, escaping Nazis and ultimately saving the life of an abandoned infant.

Jett Klyne (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and Richard Armitage (The Hobbit franchise) star in the lead roles of Max and Jasko, respectively. Masa Lizdek (The Waiting Room) will appear as Kasia, Jasko’s wife. David Kohlsmith (Shazam) and Christopher Heyerdahl (Peacemaker) round out the key cast as Yanek and Chief Bagan.

Robert Budreau and Jonathan Bronfman are producers, with Andrew Bronfman co-producing. Tina Smart and Maxwell Smart are executive producers along with Patrick Patterson and Joel Reilly at Undisputed Pictures. Myriad’s Kirk D’Amico and Photon’s Mark Slone are also executive producers

Photon Films will release the film in Canada.

“Making this film has been an immense honor and a great responsibility,” Snow said. “Watching Jett Klyne and Richard Armitage bring these characters and this history to life is thrilling. The world needs to hear these stories now more than ever, and I am so thankful to be a part of telling this one.”

snowdocss

Today is #holocaustremembranceday, and it feels particularly poignant to be in the edit on the movie adaptation of survivor Maxwell Smart's incredible memoir 'The Boy In The Woods'. If you haven't read the book already go out and buy it. You will #neverforget