Avi Nesher to direct adaptation of ‘Sons and Soldiers’

Jagman Productions and producer Josh Green announced that Bruce Henderson’s “son and soldier,” with the acclaimed Israeli filmmaker. Abby Nesher Set directly.

Henderson’s book deals with a small group of German-born Jewish refugees who fled Nazi-occupied Europe in the 1930s and settled in the United States. After the United States entered the war, they were drafted into the Army and trained as interrogators and interpreters at Camp Ritchie. At great personal risk, they returned to war-torn Europe to fight for their country and the families they left behind. The book was a New York Times bestseller.

Drawing on original interviews and archival material, “Sons and Soldiers” traces the Ritchie Boys’ journey from refugee to combat and their desperate efforts to find surviving family members in the war’s closing weeks. A postwar U.S. Army report found that nearly 60% of reliable intelligence gathered during the war in Europe came from the Ritchie Boys.

Nesher previously wrote and directed “Images of Victory,” a historical drama centered on the Battle of Nichanim during Israel’s War of Independence, which was nominated for 15 Israeli Academy Awards. Additional credits include “The Other Story,” “Past Life” and “The Matchmaker.” His latest film ‘Our Love’ is scheduled to be released in 2026.

“This book exposes a largely forgotten chapter in World War II history: how Jews and other refugees fleeing Nazi tyranny became the Allies’ most effective intelligence assets, juxtaposing the sweeping scope of World War II with an intimate, personal, and deeply human journey,” Green said. “This story celebrates the Ritchie Boys, most of them Jewish, German and Austrian, as well as all the unsung heroes and European refugees who risked everything to return to battle and help turn the tide of the war.”

“I feel like this story is urgently needed in a time of rising anti-Semitism,” Nesher said. “It challenges long-held stereotypes that reduce Jews to figures of manipulation or finance, and instead reveals a history of courage, intelligence, and direct participation on the battlefield. Rich Boys represents a form of war rarely seen on screen: a war in which language, psychology, and identity are decisive forces rather than secondary tools. The film aspires to bring that dimension forward with a clarity and power that allows it to be as immediate and moving as Saving Private Ryan, while also taking a perspective that feels both important and overdue. We provide.”

Green’s recent work includes executive producing Sam Pollard’s documentaries “I Was Born This Way” (co-directed by Daniel Junge) and “The League” and Ann Hu’s U.S./China co-production “Confetti.” He is currently producing a macro adaptation of Reginald Lewis’s memoir, “Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?,” written by Oscar winner Kevin Willmott, and Dr. Ronald Mallett’s memoir, “The Time Traveler.” His additional projects include biopics on Cuban ballet icon Alicia Alonso and college basketball coach and broadcasting legend Al McGuire, and a docuseries exploring the history of Willowbrook State Developmental Center.

Green is repped by Greg Pedicin of Untitled Entertainment. Nesher is represented by Gersh.