First Trailer Lands for 'Krux', a German WWII Debut Heading to Toronto and San Sebastian
The first trailer has dropped for Krux, a German-Polish World War Two drama and the feature debut of writer-director Tony Vahl, ahead of its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. Deadline revealed the trailer on 28 August 2026. The 92-minute film will then move to the San Sebastian Film Festival's Official Selection in September. Deadline
Krux takes its inspiration from true events in a small village in northeastern Germany at the end of the Second World War, when the Nazi regime ordered citizens to "leave nothing alive for the enemy to find." The Toronto festival's own page for the film describes it as the story of a moment when right-wing terror was directed against a country's own people. TIFF
The cast spans established German screen names and newer faces: Jella Haase, Frida-Lovisa Hamann, Clemens Schick, Lukas Miko, Martin Wuttke, Steffi Kühnert, Hans Uwe Bauer, Marlene Franzone, Phileas Heyblom and Hugo Goers. Martina Haubrich and Ewa Puszcyńska lead-produce, with co-producers Claudia Schröter and Peter Hartwig and associate producer Barbara Albert. Deadline
For Vahl, Toronto's Discovery programme — a section built around first-time filmmakers — is the launch pad. The film was announced as part of the 2026 Discovery slate in late July. From there it travels to San Sebastian, where it joins a competitive Official Selection alongside new work by Jesse Eisenberg, Fred Cavayé, Amanda Kernell, Gabriel Martins and Ah Biao. TIFF Variety
International sales are handled by Global Constellation, which took Krux (originally announced under the spelling Crux) as its first acquisition in May 2025. The company has since built a tidy territorial map: France went to UFO, Benelux to distri7, and a Brazil deal with Bellas Artes is the latest to close. Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be distributed by Vuelta Germany, while Gutek prebought rights for Poland. Deadline Deadline
What stands out here is the pipeline. A first-time director with a Germany-Poland co-production has landed back-to-back slots at two of Europe's most watched festivals and assembled distribution across four major territories before the public has seen a frame beyond the trailer. For a debut, that is a strong position to be trading from.
