‘The Survivor’: HBO Sets Premiere Date For Barry Levinson’s Ben Foster Drama

HBO announced today that Academy Award winner Barry Levinson’s latest film, The Survivor, starring Ben Foster, will premiere on the premium cabler on April 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, in honor of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day)—subsequently becoming available for streaming on HBO Max.

The HBO Original is based on Alan Haft’s book, Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano. It tells the incredible true story of Haft (Foster), who after being sent to Auschwitz, survived not only the unspeakable horrors of the camp, but the gladiatorial boxing spectacle he was forced to perform with his fellow prisoners for the amusement of his captors. Unbeknownst to those who try to destroy him, Haft’s will to survive is driven by his quest to reunite with the woman he loves.

Levinson previously directed the HBO films Paterno, The Wizard of Lies and You Don’t Know Jack, which amassed a combined 21 Emmy nominations—and reteamed with Foster after casting him in his first film, Liberty Heights.

The script for The Survivor was penned by The 100‘s Justine Juel Gillmer. Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), Billy Magnussen (No Time to Die), Peter Sarsgaard (Jackie), Saro Emirze (Wilsberg), Dar Zuzovsky (Hostages), Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and John Leguizamo (Latin History for Morons) round out the cast.

The film was produced by New Mandate Films’ Matti Leshem (The Shallows), BRON Studios’ Aaron L. Gilbert (Bombshell, Monster, The Front Runner), Baltimore Pictures’ Jason Sosnoff (HBO’s Paterno and The Wizard of Lies), Levinson (Donnie Brasco, Bugsy) and Scott Pardo (Hope & A Little Sugar).

Production on the film from New Mandate Films and BRON Studios, in association with Baltimore Pictures, Endeavor Content, USC Shoah Foundation and Creative Wealth Media, was aided by a team at USC Shoah Foundation who provided detailed historical consulting, as well as access to a testimony from Haft, filmed in 2007 and preserved within USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive.

Levinson also recently executive produced Hulu’s award-winning miniseries, Dopesick. Other upcoming projects from the filmmaker include the Apollo 11 limited series One Giant Leap, and the film Francis and The Godfather, about the making of the Paramount classic.