Author House Hollywood Treatment Screenplay The Grayling Hidden Truth Poems by Cheryl Freier Page Four
leave the dead Jews there to rot. Joseph and his family, paralyzed with fear, remain crouched in the bushes for hours. When it’s safe, Joseph ushers the family ever deeper into the forest until, just before dawn, they reach a cave in the foothills of a mountain near a small stream. Henry fills their canteens with fresh water. Anna and Edith gather wild mushrooms while Joseph and the boys clear the cave for a shelter. As they sit down to dine on cheese, crackers and wild mushrooms, Joseph says that all they need is a pot of coffee and they will be set. Anna chuckles. It is contagious and soon they are all laughing.
Joseph and Sam set out early the next morning. They head for a spot in the woods where the men or Joseph’s former lumber company will be cutting down trees. They hide in the woods and await Frank’s arrival. On Joseph’s signal, he and Sam ambush Frank before he is see by the men. They cover his mouth and drag him to nearby cover. Frank tries to resist but eventually recognizes Joseph. Joseph divulges the story of their flight and offers to pay Frank to bring food and supplies to his family periodically. Frank warns that they could be in the forest for onths, even years. Sam quips that it beats being dead. Frank nods solemnly and agrees to do what he can for them. Frank hugs both Sam and Joseph and tells them, “God be with you.”
April 1944 – Henry and Bernard crouch behind a fallen tre. Bernard has his hand over Henry’s mouth. They hear a loud snap. Releasing Henry, the boys leap over the tree and jump to the ground. “We did it,” shouts Bernard, raising a rabbit high over his head like a trophy. They race back to the cave where the boys proudly display their prey. Anna claps her hands and gives the boys a hug. She tells them this rabbit will make a fine stew. Sam teases that it is too small and scrawny. Anna chastises him and sends him to the clearing to see if Frank dropped of any potatoes to add to their rabbit stew.
Detouring from his usual route, Sam picks up a jagged rock and marks or trees as he goes. The sound of rushing water is barely audible. As he ventures, he finds a small waterfall that pours into a lake. Sam slurps up handfuls of the fresh water. He freezes as a high-pitched tone greets his ears. A young woman, SARAH (16), glides over the surface of the water singing the same tune over and over. Mesmerized, Sam watches her drift to the bank. Confidently, the young woman emerges from the water, fully clothed. She lifts the hems of her long skirt and wrings them out. Her wet blouse clings to her body.
Sam calls out to her and waves his hands in 5the air. She turns to him with fear and consternation and calls back, “Who are you?” Sam stutters another hello. Sarah tells him to not to come y closer, she is not alone. Sam raises his hands in the air as if he is surrendering. He confesses that he and his family are hiding from the Nazis in the woods. “Then you must be a Jew?” she stammers. Same is hesitant. “Well, answer

Author House Hollywood Treatment Date: 3-9-12
Third Page
After dark, Frank and Joseph drive the back roads to the Freier’s deserted home. Frank watches as Joseph carefully counts his steps, then drops to the ground and starts digging with his hands. Together, they unearth a tin box. Joseph gives three hundred dollars to Frank and takes two hundred for himself. He buries the box again. Frank drives Joseph to a clearing in the woods. Joseph kisses Frank’s hand in appreciation before he heads back into the woods to rejoin his family. From his lookout, Sam spies Joseph approaching and runs to him, nearly knocking him over as they embrace. As Joseph enters, the relief the family feels at his return is palpable. He tells them they are going home. Anna is hesitant, but he tells her that they are safe from the Nazis, for now. Joseph discloses his encounter with Frank and the deal jade with Benjamin. At nightfall, the family journeys home.
Once Joseph and Sam ensure that it’s safe, the Freier family enters their home where they enjoy a meal together and wash up before retiring for the night. The following evening, Joseph and Sam venture out. The neighborhood at first seems untouched by the war, but the silence is foreboding. Broken glass and abandoned suitcases litter the streets. They make their way to Frank’s house, this time entering through the front door. Frank tells them that Benjamin has arranged for his family to stay, but Joseph must sign over his lumber business to Frank and become his foreman. He explains that they may remain with special permission from the Nazis because their business has been designated as needed for the German cause. With doleful obedience, Joseph concedes and thanks Frank for all he has done for his family.
October 1943 – Anna is preparing a meal, Edith reads a book and the boys are gathered around a chess board. Joseph frantically enters the house. He tells his family that the Germans are returning and this time they intend to take all the Jews away on a train. He peels back the wallpaper of the living room wall and removes a stack of money. Edith begins to cry and asks Joseph where they will go. He tells her that they will cross the border and board a rain for Switzerland. He has arranged for a guide to lead them to safety.
After dark, Joseph’s hired GUIDE (35) leads the family deep into the woods. Sirens scream in the distance. Their guide emits a warning call like the chirp o a bird. Joseph whispers that everyone needs to crawl on their bellies from this point on. They crawl for miles until Anna cries out that she can go no further. The guide is alarmed by something in the forest and he orders the family to take cover.
Another family emerges from the darkness. The Freier’s guide approaches the man leading them. The men get into a heated conversation. The man speaking with the Freier’s guide whistles loudly and ducks for cover. From their hiding place, the Freier’s watch in horror as a dozen Nazi SOLDIERS appear out of the forest. They brutally gun down the unsuspecting family. A gravelly voice orders the soldiers to

Second Page
Author House Hollywood Treatment Date 3/9/2012
Treatment:
Micholovce, Czechoslovakia, October 1942 – Atop a hill, HENRY FREIER (5), a plump, cherub faced boy, climbs onto a jagged rock and takes a heroic, defensive stance. Henry’s sister, EDITH (17), gently coaxes him down and tells him that even heroes need to eat. Henry protests and says that he’ll skip dinner to stand guard. Edith, smiling, asks why he thinks he has to guard the family. “Because the Germans are coming,” he cries.
Henry and Edith enter their small home where the rest of the family waits at the table. JOSEPH FREIER (45) commends Henry for a job well done. Henry smiles proudly. His mother, ANNA (38) serves dinner to her other sons, SAM (16), MARTIN (13) AND BERNARD (10). Heavy footsteps, followed by the resonance of a rifle butt beating against the door, interrupt the meal. Joseph waits until the door is nearly beaten down, and then opens it. Three German soldiers enter. “Come with us,” they shout.
The family is piled into the back of a truck as their frightened neighbors look on. As the truck bounds over bumpy roads, the passengers listen intently, trying to figure out where they are going. The truck stops and everyone is told to get out. The prisoners are marched single file, along a winding dirt trail to a cramped, fenced in area. Hundreds of prisoners are there already.
Joseph notices that the fence is a flimsy mesh wire, and that one, lone guard patrols the perimeter. Sam motions to Joseph, and the family makes their way to the back of the pen. Sam lifts the wire and the family escapes into the nearby woods. They stumble for miles through the darkness until they reach a clearing where they collapse on the ground. No one speaks. Their exhaustion is debilitating and sleep comes quickly.
At dawn Joseph leaves his family and makes his way to the house o his friend FRANK (50). He knocks on the window pane of the living room. Frank waves him inside. “Please, help me and my family,” Joseph pleads. Frank nods reluctantly and tells him to stay put until he returns. Nazi soldiers patrolling the streets pay no attention to Frank as he hurries to the makeshift office of the town’s mayor, BENJAMIN (60). Frank tells Benjamin of the Freier family’s escape from the Nazis and asks for his help. With no consideration to the matter, Benjamin tells Frank that for three hundred dollars, Joseph’s family will be off of the list. He dismisses Frank abruptly.

AuthorHouse Hollywood Treatment Date 3/9/12
The Grayling by Cheryl Freier
Screenplay treatment by Sean M. Dunne
Mission Statement:
The Grayling is the heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to survive in the Czechoslovakian wilderness while being sought out for extermination by the Nazis during World War Two. The easily identifiable characters and the dangers they face while fighting to survive make this a film that audiences of all ages and backgrounds will be drawn to. The story seamlessly blends romance and humor with fast-paced action and tense thrill sequences to bring the viewer a glimpse of what it must have been like during one o the darkest times in human history.
The small cast and intimate settings are what set this World War Two tale apart from so many others. Instead of offering the viewer a large sweeping view of the conflict, The Grayling gives the reader a more poignant look at what it was like for the individual, rather than the masses, to face the horrors of the relentless Nazi war machine.
The film story blends Cheryl Freier’s narrative with the mood of Martin Freier’s poetry to bring a unique perspective to a widely explored and heavily produced subject matter.
Logline:
A Jewish family struggles to survive in the forests outside of their Czechoslovakian village after escaping the clutches of the Nazi war machine. Their determination, resourcefulness and love for each other are all they have to defend against the threats of both man and nature as they ride out the horror that was the Second World War.