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The Schmooze

‘Schindler’s List’ Producer Backing Made-in-China Holocaust Movie

It’s a staple of Hollywood and European cinema, and now a Holocaust movie is being shot in China.

Image by Getty Images

Xinhua, the country’s official news agency, reports that production will soon begin on “The Melanie Violin,” a drama about a Jewish musician who flees Europe for Shanghai and falls for a local love interest. The film will be backed by “Schindler’s List” producer Branko Lustig, and will be scripted by Chinese-American writer He Ning.

An Auschwitz survivor, Lustig announced the new film Friday during a visit to Shanghai, where some 30,000 Jewish refugees found shelter during the war.

A Chinese-American co-production, the movie has a budget of between $30 and $45 million, and should be completed by the end of the year.

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