“If any of you happen to see an injustice, you are no longer a spectator, you are a participant and you have an obligation to do something.” – June Callwood
My ultimate goal is to get my screenplay Wrestling With Her Spirit produced. Whether that involves selling it to interested buyers or gathering a collective of like-minded people to make it myself, I must get this film made. This blog post will introduce you to my great aunt Emma. Future blog posts will tell you about the process and progress of the script.
It took two years and an incredible amount of research to write WWHS’s first draft. Emma was my great aunt, but I didn’t know her story until I became interested in it around 2009. I met her a few times when I was a child but tended to keep an arms length because she would almost smother children with hugs and kisses.
Emma never talked about her experience in Ottawa and Kingston Prison with others, except maybe Agatha, her cousin. If anyone asked questions, she would change the subject. I made a few calls to Agatha, not able to reach her, and then she died. In 1946, Emma was accused of spying for the Russians and tried for treason. Agatha was apparently the one with Emma’s letters from Kingston and the most upset about the book.
June Callwood wrote a book about Emma in 1984. The family was embarrassed about Emma and some of them didn’t like June’s book. I went to Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan twice to ask pertinent questions but felt awkward to broach the subject. My temerity cost me, now with so many people dying, I can only speculate.
It’s an important story because it changed the world by sparking the smouldering Cold War. There have been books written and movies made about the “Gouzenko Affair” but my screenplay offers a unique perspective from a woman’s point of view. In addition, Doukhobor history is not widely known except for the association with the radical Sons of Freedom.
WWHS is a love story, a persecuted immigrant story, a spy story and a prison story. It’s a Canadian historical biography. About eighty percent of the content is factual though I’ve changed the chronology and characters and of course there are things that can never be known as to motivations and conversations, etc.
There is still a question about exactly what information Emma gave the Russians at the end of WWII. Was it of any consequence? Were they using her or she using them? Pertinent legal and prison files are missing, including the meticulously kept diary of Prime Minister Mackenzie King.
THE COLD WAR BEGINS
Many people’s lives were ruined with Gouzenko’s disclosures. The “Red Under the Bed” scare began and Winston Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain speech was broadcast. Communist philosophy is not in the best interest of a materialistic for-profit society and best quashed by the powers that be. Emma was the first to be tried in the Gouzenko Affair and was made an example of. She was 25 years old when she was sent to Kingston Prison for almost three years in 1946.
I AM LOOKING FOR A PRODUCER
Wrestling With Her Spirit is a big budget historical drama but at the same time, an art film. Some have suggested it would work well as a mini-series. In any case, I would like to compose the music.
In future blog posts, I will go through my process of writing this screenplay and my efforts to get it made and will include fascinating Doukhohor history. I can also tell you the story about me handing a letter to Oliver Stone asking if he would like to direct the film.
Please contact me if you are interested or have any questions about Wrestling With Her Spirit. I also need an editor and technical help.
Filed Under: Audio, Blog, Creative Journeys, Issues That Concern Me, Writing
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