Brothers in arms at 'Defiance'

If it hadn't been for a brief but heroic sounding obituary of Tuvia Bielski, who led a rural Nazi resistance movement and helped save hundreds of his fellow Jews during WWII, there might be no historical drama called "Defiance."

Screenwriter Clay Frohman spotted the article, tipped filmmaker Ed Zwick to a potentially rich story and, some 15 years later, was among the packed house to see the film get its world premiere Sunday night, Zwick told the crowd at the AFI festival finale.

As it happens, there's also been a BBC special, a History Channel documentary and two books devoted to the Bielski brothers. One of those tomes, "Defiance: the Bielski Partisans," served as source material for the Paramount Vantage feature, which could get the broadest exposure yet for the brothers' story. It's set for wide release early next year, after an Oscar qualifying run in December.

The premiere brought out brothers-in-arms Liev Schreiber and all-grown-up Jamie Bell (pictured) whose characters set up a community of Jews in the Belarussian woods to escape the Nazi concentration camps. Co-stars including Mia Wasikowska, the recently-cast Alice from Tim Burton's upcoming "Alice in Wonderland," Alexa Davalos and Mark Feuerstein watched the movie shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Oscar nominee Ellen Page, Matt Dillon and Richard Schiff.

Go here for THR's review of the film, described as "passionate if prosaically rendered."