Episode 1/Screenplay

EXT. A SHIP COMING IN TO PORT. NIGHT

*A close-up of a small girl,* **Lotte**. *She is seven years old, dressed in a battered overcoat that seems too big for her. It is night. The wind is blowing her hair; her face is very tense. She glances sideways, military policemen are standing either side of her, staring ahead, not engaging with her. We cut back to* **Lotte**. *We see from her point of view the approaching shore, a port at night. There are arc lights staring down, military vehicles moving along the shoreline as the ship moves close.*

We cut wide on Lotte and see she is in the bow of the ship, guarded by the two military policemen, as if she is under escort. We cut back to her face; we now see everything from her point of view. The other passengers in the bow of the ship are straining to get a first look at the shore. There is a whole babble of languages being spoken behind her: French, Dutch, German. She sees anxious faces all around her, uncertainty in their eyes, wondering what awaits them.

Lotte is holding a battered toy animal in one hand, a misshapen grey donkey with one of its eyes missing. Her hand tightens on her toy as the ship moves closer to the port. She glances at the military police next to her, their impassive faces, and, seeing they are not looking at her, she turns suddenly and pushes back among the passengers.

Her father, Dieter, is standing a few feet behind her, a man in his late thirties. He is staring ahead, watching the port come into view, his expression very tense. He squeezes her hand, and Lotte holds on tightly to him. Her father is surrounded by a military escort. We stay on Lotte, as she stares at the buildings, looming into view now, and the silhouette of a large naval ship towering above them. The lights from the shore are bright, intense, and the noise suddenly overwhelming, as the ship's engines begin to manoeuvre. We cut to the dark water, with the arc lights reflected in it, and then the military vehicles moving along the shore.

A caption comes up over the image.

ENGLAND. 1946.

INT. IMMIGRATION HALL. NIGHT

We cut to Lotte, moving with the military police into the vast immigration hall. It is a building that has several levels. A narrow entrance through which everybody is funnelled, opening out into a general processing area which stretches into the distance, as far as Lotte can see.

Her father, who is carrying a single suitcase, is just ahead of her, being moved fast through the hall by the military police. Lotte has to run to keep up.

All around the hall she sees signs and arrows pointing to different checkpoints: for UK Citizens, for British Commonwealth Subjects, and then an arrow for the rest of the world. Above her head loudspeakers are crackling out, a rasping voice, telling people to find their correct area.

Lotte catches up with her father and the military police, who have paused for a moment at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Lotte can see across the hall, to where the swarm of passengers are being separated. The British queue, a short one, is standing opening their suitcases for customs. At the front of the queue is an aristocratic-looking woman wearing a large hat. She appears very impatient when she starts being questioned about what exactly she has brought aboard.

A couple of men from the British queue stare with detached curiosity at Lotte, in her big coat, with her bedraggled donkey.

and shapes. Lotte looks away from them, across to the other side of the hall, where the much longer queue of refugees is forming. All different ages Their faces looking disoriented and very nervous, some of them dragging large trunks behind them; others just have bundles of possessions.

A Sharp-faced Woman in uniform suddenly appears down the stairs and summons the military escort. Now they are moving fast again, up the stairs, with officials brushing past them in the opposite direction.

They emerge on to the first floor. Desks line the vast space. At each one an official is sitting, questioning some refugees. And there is a row of passengers sitting waiting their turn, looking gaunt and frightened under the harsh lights. A powerful sense of need on their faces, people desperately wanting the chance to rebuild their lives.

Lotte has to run again to keep up with the escort. Her father is looking back all the time, checking where she is. Suddenly the military police stop and take her father into a small office off the main area. Two of the police follow him into the office. The other two move further down the passage to have a smoke.

Lotte can see a large man in a suit sitting at the desk in the office. Just before the door closes, her father calls out to her in German, as if giving her instructions.

The Sharp-faced Woman immediately turns to Lotte.

SHARP-FACED WOMAN
What did he say to you?
Lotte stares back at the woman, giving her nothing. Her expression tense, defiant. The Sharp-faced Woman's tone becomes more insistent:

What did your father say to you?
LOTTE
I don't speak English.
The woman stares at Lotte for a moment, giving her a searching look, trying to work out whether she is lying.

SHARP-FACED WOMAN
Well, you have to sit still here until they've finished with your father.
Just as she is saying this there are raised voices from the little office. Lotte's father's voice, clearly very agitated. We can hear shouts of protest. Then the door opens for a brief moment as one of the military police leaves. Lotte glimpses her father for a second before the door closes, his face flushed with fury.

We move in on Lotte as the shouting continues. She starts to shake, the faces staring at her, the frightening noise. The sound begins to blur as we see the real shock on the young girl's face at finding herself here.

The door suddenly bursts open, and the sound comes back with a rush, as the military policeman is escorting Dieter out of the office. As he leaves, Dieter turns to the large man, and says in English.