The trailer has been released for “Denial” starring Rachel Weisz, a film about an Emory University professor’s legal battle with a Holocaust denier.
The historical courtroom drama is based on Deborah Lipstadt’s 2005 memoir, “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier.” Much of the movie was filmed at Emory University in DeKalb, and Lipstadt spent time on the set and with the screenwriter.
“On some level it’s a surrealistic experience,” said Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish and Holocaust studies at Emory.
In 1993, she wrote a scholarly analysis of Holocaust denial and criticized David Irving, a British writer and historian, for being an extremist. Irving sued her for libel, and there was immediately a catch. In the United States, if someone sues for libel, it is their responsibility to prove they were victimized. In England, the burden of proof falls on the accused to prove their own innocence.
“If I didn’t fight it, he would win by default,” Lipstadt said.
The movie recounts her legal battle, which was internationally publicized, and the struggle of essentially proving the Holocaust actually happened.
While Lipstadt has not seen the film in its entirety yet, she is pleased with the cast pieces she has seen.
“What I’ve seen thus far, I find it quite riveting,” she said.
While the movie is a dramatization of the events that occurred, she stresses the truth behind what happened.
“You can have your own opinions, but you can’t have your own facts,” Lipstadt said.
"Denial" is set to open in select theaters Oct. 6.
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