Sendler, known as the "female Schindler" of for smuggling 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto, died in Poland on May 12. The film was written and will be directed by John Kent Harrison, based upon Anna Mieszkowska's 2005 book Mother of the Children of the Holocaust: The Irena Sendler Story.

Grupa Filmowa Baltmedia, which co-produced Harrison's previous Polish-set film, the TV bio-picture Pope John Paul II, is in discussions to co-produce and provide Polish services. Polish public television PTV is also expected to participate. Filming on location in Poland is planned for late summer/early fall.

Sendler was previously the inspiration for a play, Life in a Jar, created by student class and performed across North America and Europe.