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To Celebrate the Beginning of Hanukkah, the Photo Shares a Scene with the Frank, van Pels and Gies Families Observing the Holiday While in Hiding During World War II Starring Bel Powley, Joe Cole, and Liev Schreiber, the Eight-Part Series will launch in 2022 exclusively on Disney+
Caption: The Frank, van Pels and Gies families celebrate Hanukkah in the upcoming limited series A SMALL LIGHT, from National Geographic and ABC Signature in partnership with Keshet Studios. From left: Liev Schreiber as Otto Frank, Ashley Brooke as Margot Frank, Rudi Goodman as Peter van Pels, Billie Boullet as Anne Frank, Amira Casar as Edith Frank, Caroline Catz as Mrs. van Pels, Noah Taylor as Dr. Pfeffer, Joe Cole as Jan Gies, Bel Powley as Miep Gies, and Andy Nyman as Mr. van Pels.
(Photo credit: National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek)
Download Photo HERE
LONDON, U.K. (20 December, 2022) - To commemorate the beginning of Hanukkah, Disney+ released a first-look photo from the upcoming National Geographic limited series A SMALL LIGHT, launching in 2023 exclusively on Disney+. Reflecting on the holiday’s themes of resistance, resilience, and courage, this first look shows Miep and Jan Gies, the Frank family, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer in a scene from the show in which they gather to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights while hidden in the secret annex.
The powerful, eight-episode limited series tells the remarkable story of 20-something secretary Miep Gies (Bel Powley), who didn’t hesitate when her boss Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) asked her to hide him and his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan (Joe Cole) and several other everyday heroes watched over the eight souls hiding in the secret annex. It was Miep who found Anne’s diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world. The series title comes from something Gies said late in her life: “I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.”
Also in the photo is Amira Casar, who plays Edith Frank, mother to Margot and Anne; Billie Boullet, who portrays Anne Frank; and Ashley Brooke, who plays Anne’s older sister Margot Frank. The remaining cast includes Eleanor Tomlinson as Tess (Miep’s best friend), Andy Nyman as Hermann van Pels, Caroline Catz as Auguste van Pels, and Noah Taylor as Dr. Fritz Pfeffer, who all hid in the annex with the Frank family; Sally Messham as Bep Voskuijl, Ian McElhinney as Johannes Kleiman, and Nicholas Burns as Victor Kugler, Miep’s coworkers; and Liza Sadovy as Mrs. Stoppelman, Laurie Kynaston as Casmir, and Sebastian Armesto as Max Stoppelman.
A SMALL LIGHT is produced by ABC Signature in partnership with Keshet Studios for National Geographic. Executive producers and writers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan (ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Council of Dads”) serve as showrunners, and DGA award-winner and Emmy®-nominated executive producer Susanna Fogel (“The Flight Attendant,” “Cat Person”) directs multiple episodes, including the pilot. Executive producers are Peter Traugott and Lisa Roos for Keshet Studios, Alon Shtruzman for Keshet International, and Avi Nir for Keshet Media Group.
Disney+ is available for £7.99 per month – with no hidden costs and the ability to cancel anytime. There’s something for everyone to watch, adding new TV series, blockbuster movies and exclusive originals throughout the year from our six key brands: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star. Other National Geographic titles streaming exclusively on Disney+ include the all enticing “Super/Natural”, hit documentary series “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth” and the newly released “Fire of Love”. With our endless library of entertainment spanning everything from documentaries to critically acclaimed drama, and comedy to classic animation, you’ll find plenty of the stories you expect, plus so many more you wouldn’t.
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