Inspired by true events, director Vadim Perelman's 1942 set
survivial tale Persian Lessons stars Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Gilles, a young Jewish man who evades
death when he tells his Nazi captors he is Persian rather than Jewish. His
plan is in danger of backfiring when he is assigned to teach Farsi to a
Nazi officer (Lars Eidinger). Jonas Nay and Leonie Benesch also star.
Persian Lessons is on UK Digital from January 22nd and on
DVD from February 8th.
Check out the trailer and artwork below.
The official synopsis reads:
Nazi-occupied France, 1942. Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, 120 BPM (Beats per Minute), The Intruder) is arrested by SS soldiers alongside fellow Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian.
This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch (Lars Eidinger, Personal Shopper, High Life), who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over.
Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of "Farsi" every day and teaching them to Koch. The particular relationship between the two men sparks the jealousy of other prisoners and SS guards towards Gilles. And while the suspicions of Koch grow every day, Gilles understands that he will not be able to keep his secret forever…
