Netflix has greenlit Projet K, a historical drama centered on the real-life pursuit of former Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie by Beate and Serge Klarsfeld. The film will star Diane Kruger as Beate, Danny Boon as Serge, and Tim Roth in the role of Barbie. French director Yvan Attal will helm the project, with a screenplay he co-wrote alongside Laurent Turner, known for his work on the Netflix crime series Ganglands.
The narrative follows the Klarsfelds’ multiyear campaign to locate and bring to justice Barbie, nicknamed the “Butcher of Lyon” for his role as head of the Gestapo in that city during the German occupation of France. Barbie was responsible for overseeing deportations and torture operations affecting thousands of people. Serge Klarsfeld, born in Bucharest in 1935 to a Jewish family, survived a childhood roundup in Nice and lost his father at Auschwitz. Beate, born in Berlin in 1939 to a Wehrmacht soldier’s family, partnered with Serge after their 1963 marriage to pursue multiple Nazi officials and Vichy collaborators beyond Barbie alone.
Following World War II, Barbie worked for United States intelligence agencies before establishing himself in Bolivia under an assumed name. The Klarsfelds identified his whereabouts and alias in 1971, initiating an international campaign for extradition despite resistance from multiple governments. After more than a decade of effort, Barbie was extradited to France in 1983, tried in Lyon, and convicted of crimes against humanity. He received a life sentence and died in prison in 1991.
Projet K marks another dramatic treatment of this historical episode; previous adaptations include the 2008 Canal+ television film La Traque and the Cannes competition entry Moulin, which examined Barbie’s activities through a different narrative lens. Production will take place across France, Bolivia, and Belgium, with Attal producing through his Films Sous Influence company alongside Antoine Pezet and Jérôme Corcos of NAC Films.
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