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Waiting for Anya
Waiting for Anya
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ben Cookson
Written by	Toby Torlesse; Ben Cookson;
Based on	Waiting for Anya; by Michael Morpurgo
Produced by	Phin Glynn; Alan Latham; Victor Glynn;
Starring	Noah Schnapp; Thomas Kretschmann; Frederick Schmidt; Jean Reno; Anjelica Huston;
Cinematography	Gerry Vasbenter
Edited by	Chris Gill
Music by	James Seymour Brett
Production; companies	Goldfinch; Fourth Culture Films; Bad Penny Productions; 13 Films; Artémis Productions;
Distributed by	Vue Cinemas
Release dates	16 January 2020 (Miami Jewish Film Festival); 7 February 2020 (United States); 21 February 2020 (United Kingdom);
Running time	109 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom; Belgium
Languages	English; French; German
Box office	$139,504

Waiting for Anya is a 2020 historical war drama film co-written and directed by Ben Cookson. It is a film adaptation of the 1990 novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo.^[4]^[5]^[6]

The film stars Noah Schnapp, Thomas Kretschmann, Frederick Schmidt, Jean Reno, and Anjelica Huston. The film premiered at the 2020 Miami Jewish Film Festival and was released on 7 February 2020.

Plot

The film begins in the summer of 1942, during World War II in the German occupation of France, a small village in the Pyrenees. A Jewish father named Benjamin walks his daughter, Anya, to the safety of a train fleeing France. One day, a young shepherd named Jo discovers several Jewish children hidden on a farm run by a widow, Horcada, and her son-in-law, the aforementioned Benjamin. Benjamin has lost track of Anya, but hopes to one day find her. During this time, helped by his mother-in-law, he helps the young Jews whom they protect to flee to Spain through the mountains. But this time, their mission is disrupted by the Germans who skirt the border, making it impossible to escape. Listening only to his courage, Jo decides to keep their secret and do everything to help them escape to Spain.

Supported by his grandfather, several inhabitants of the village and his father, a former prisoner of the Germans, Jo allies with Benjamin and the widow Horcada to allow the children to escape across the border. Although many children manage to escape to Spain one child becomes very sick and Benjamin takes her to the village where they are taken by the Germans. It transpires that one friendly German corporal (who lost his own daughter in a Berlin bombing) was aware of the children hiding but kept quiet about it, later telling Jo “at least we achieved something”.

One year after the war ends Anya eventually reaches the village and is welcomed by her grandmother and Jo.

Cast

Noah Schnapp as Jo
Thomas Kretschmann as Nazi Corporal
Frederick Schmidt as Benjamin
Tómas Lemarquis as Lieutenant
Elsa Zylberstein as Jo's mother
Gilles Marini as Jo's father
Jean Reno as Henri
Anjelica Huston as Widow Horcada
Nicholas Rowe as The Mayor
Sadie Frost as Madame Jollet
William Abadie as Father Lasalle
Urs Rechn as Hans
Joséphine de La Baume as Mademoiselle Audap
Jean-François Balmer as Narrator
Michael Morpurgo as Farmer
Lukas Sauer (de) as Hans

Release

The film premiered at the Miami Jewish Film Festival on 16 January 2020,^[4] and was theatrically released in the United States on 7 February 2020 by Vertical Entertainment^[1] and in the United Kingdom on 21 February 2020.^[2]^[5]

Reception

Box office

Waiting for Anya grossed $0 in the United States and Canada,^[1] and a worldwide total of $139,504.^[2]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 43% of 28 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10.^[3] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 38 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.^[7]