Film about local missionary’s daring rescue days before World War II debuts on DVD and streaming
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IDAHO FALLS – An independent film about a local missionary who helped his associates escape from Germany in the days before World War II is making its way to DVD and online streaming this week.
“Escape from Germany” follows Norm Seibold in 1939 three days before the German army invaded Poland. The Rupert man, who passed away in 2003, was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time.
This month marks 85 years since the events depicted in the movie, according to a news release.
The film has played in 200 theaters nationwide since its April release. After 114 days in theaters — one of the longest runs of any film this year — it’s earned more than $2.6 million at the box office. It’s a sizable profit for a film with a production budget of less than $1 million.
It’s the highest-grossing film of Director T.C. Christensen’s career. He and the rest of the crew are excited about its debut on Apple TV and DVD this Friday.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Paul Wuthrich, who played the lead role in the film, says he’s thrilled with its performance.
“This is the fourth film I’ve done with T.C. It’s my first lead role with him. To see this positive response is just awesome,” Wuthrich says. “As an actor, you put your heart and soul into something like this and you want it to do well. To get that sort of feedback is just amazing.”
Fans of this movie might remember Wuthrich for his portrayal of Joseph Smith in the film “Witnesses” in 2021. He had a small role in Christensen’s film, “The Fighting Preacher,” in 2019. Two years earlier, Christensen cast him as a missionary in “Love, Kennedy.”
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Wuthrich says Christensen had another part in mind for him when the director started casting for “Escape from Germany” prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Christensen offered him the lead role several years later when production resumed.
He’s proud to have his name attached to “an incredible story” that wasn’t very well-known prior to this project.
“That’s one of the reactions a lot of people have,” Wuthrich explains. “As we go to screenings, one question we get asked is, ‘Why have we not heard this before?’ It’s been very cool to be a part of sharing this story.”
The film is available for pre-order here.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH WUTHRICH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
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