Four-time Oscar-nominated director Anthony McCarten directs this political thriller set at the momentous Potsdam Conference in 1945, starring Guy Pearce, Jared Harris and Merab Ninidze.
“The Price of Peace” chronicles the historic meeting between President Harry S. Truman, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that negotiated the future of postwar Europe. SND is presenting the project to international buyers at the European Film Market.
Principal photography is scheduled to begin in summer 2026 in London and Potsdam, with delivery expected in 2027. The film marks McCarten’s return to historical themes following Darkest Hour, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Theory of Everything, and The Two Popes.
Pearce will play Truman, Harris will play Churchill, and Ninidze will play Stalin. The story centers on July 1945, when three leaders converge on conflicting agendas: Truman seeks to end the Pacific War, Churchill faces a domestic election, and Stalin pursues territorial expansion. Their negotiations would lay the foundations for decades of Cold War politics.
“The Potsdam Conference was a watershed moment in world history, the moment when World War II turned into the Cold War,” McCarten said. “It’s not a biopic, it’s a political thriller with very high stakes, frankly.”
Raccoon features, Muse of Fire Productions, Salloway Studios and Spark Productions are producing in association with Ingara. SND is co-producer and is responsible for international sales and distribution in France. CAA Media Finance is jointly acquiring the US rights with SND.
Jonathan Saubach and Philip Clausing will produce for Raccoon Features, Matthew Sulloway for Sulloway Studios, McCarten for Muse of Fire Productions and Eric Falkenstein for Spark Productions.
“Working on The Price of Peace with filmmaker Anthony McCarten is exactly where we want to be with Raccoon,” Clausing said. “Telling compelling stories with relevance and urgency to audiences around the world is the number one reason we do it.”
Ramy Nahas, director of international sales and distribution at SND, compared the project to “The Darkest Hour” and “The King’s Speech,” noting McCarten’s “extraordinary talent for injecting genuine suspense and emotional depth into well-known historical events.”
Berlin and London-based Raccoon Features is currently producing The Boys from Brazil, directed by Peter Morgan, for Netflix, starring Jeremy Strong, Gillian Anderson and August Diehl.
