Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann sitting in a glass box flanked by guards at his trial in Jerusalem. Photo: GPO.

A new drama about the execution of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann is heading to the Jerusalem Film Festival, where it will make its Israeli debut this month.

The Hebrew-language feature “June Zero,” which recently made its world premiere in the Czech Republic, is set in the days leading up to Eichmann’s execution in Israel in May 1962. Its storyline follows three individuals — a 13-year-old boy who works at a factory that is commissioned to build a crematorium to incinerate Eichmann’s body; Eichmann’s chief prison guard during his trial, sentencing, and hanging; and a Holocaust survivor who, after assisting in the war criminal’s capture and trial, is undertaking his first trip back to Poland.

New York-based director Jake Paltrow, brother of Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, told Deadline he developed an interest in events surrounding Eichmann’s hanging after learning that authorities secretly commissioned a portable cremation oven to dispose of Eichmann’s body after his execution. The director, who has Polish Jewish ancestry, visited Israel in 2018 to interview people who were involved in building the oven.

Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval joined the film as a co-writer, and pushed for the feature to be shot locally and in Hebrew. It also filmed partially in Ukraine.

“June Zero” is set to be released in Israel in the autumn, according to Deadline.  

The Jerusalem Film Festival will take place July 21-31.