Barry Levinson set to direct 'Babi Yar' adaptation

Barry Levinson is set to direct a big-screen adaptation of Anatoly Kuznetsov's WWII classic "Babi Yar."

Here's how Variety describes the project:

"Novel is the author's harrowing account of witnessing mass executions of Jews, gypsies, Poles and prisoners of war during the German occupation of Kiev. The title refers to a ravine called Babi Yar where the atrocities took place."

"Yar" will be produced on a $35 million budget, and shooting is expected to start in Ukraine and Romania in April.

Levinson's credits unclude "Good Morning, Vietnam," "Rain Man," and more recently "Man of the Year." He last helmed "What Just Happened."

The most recent WWII films to open in theaters include "Defiance," "Valkyrie," "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and "The Counterfeiters."