Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp and Anjelica Huston will star in World War II drama Waiting For Anya for Goldfinch Studios.

Schnapp will play a young shepherd, Jo, in the film alongside Huston’s widow Horcada in the adaptation of the book by War Horse author Michael Morpurgo. The film is set in Lescun, southern France, and follows Jo’s involvement in smuggling Jewish children across the border into Spain. The Pianist star Thomas Kretschmann, Elsa Zylbertsein (I’ve Loved You So Long) and Tomas Lemarquis (X-Men: Apocalypse) also feature.

Directed by Ben Cookson, director of Emily Atack and Philip McGinley’s Almost Married, the film is written by Morpurgo, who first published the book in 1990, and Toby Torlesse.

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The movie is produced by Phin Glynn for Bad Penny Productions and Alan Latham for Goldfinch Studios. Executive producers are Kirsty Bell, Victor Glynn, Geoffrey Iles and the film is co-produced by Daz Spencer-Lovesey. Shooting will commence later this year on location in France.

Goldfinch Studios is launching the movie at EFM in Berlin this with, while LA-based 13 Films is handling global sales. Elsewhere, on Goldfinch’s EFM slate is Sometime, Always, Never, starring Bill Nighy, Sam Riley and Jenny Agutter.

“Whilst you are writing your story, it becomes precious to you. When someone creates a play or a film from your story, what you care about most is that it means as much to them; that they catch the spirit of it, that they grow the story with integrity and love and skill, and do it their own way, in their own voice. I have no doubt that the team making the film of Waiting For Anya will do all that and more. I wish them all, actors, crew, writers and producers and director, all the success they deserve,” said Morpurgo.

Schnapp is represented by Untitled Entertainment, CAA and McKuin, Frankel, Whitehead.