The Power of One Page #2

YOUNG MAN (V.O.)

During the Boer War of 1896,

26,000 Boer women and children

were herded into detainment camps

by the British, where they died

like flies from dysentery,

7.

malaria and black water fever.

And it seemed I was destined to

shoulder the responsibility foreach and every one of thosedeaths.

The six-year-old in his first soccer game receives theball. He tries to move upfield, but he is kicked andpushed, the ball taken from him. He gets up gamely tofollow the chase, only to be flattened, blindsided byJaapie Botha.

YOUNG MAN (V.O.)

And no one made this more evident

to me than Jaapie Botha, a wheatfarmer's son from the Transvaal.

CUT TO:

11 INT. DORMITORY 11

The six-year-old, asleep, his chicken perched alertlyatop the bed.

YOUNG MAN (V.O.)

The only time I was at peace waswhen I slept. Inkosi Inkosikazi's

chicken proved to be, like hisprevious owner, a salvation.

CUT TO:

12 EXT. REAR OF DORMITORY - DAY 12

The Boy builds a small shelter for the CHICKEN, whoCLUCKS and forages contentedly.

YOUNG MAN (V.O.)

During the day he would liveoutside the dorm, happily scarfingdown bugs and grubs, secure in alittle house I built for him.

CUT TO:

13 INT. DORM - NIGHT 13

YOUNG MAN (V.O.)

And at night he would hop throughthe window and, perching over mybed, squawking if any intruders

came near.

8.

Several boys sneak up in the dark. The CHICKEN begins

to CHATTER. The six-year-old wakes, a shoe in hand

ready to throw. The shadows scatter. The Boy gives the

chicken a few grains of corn and an affectionate scratch

behind the ear, and goes back to sleep.

YOUNG MAN (V.O.)

He was my best and only friend.

CUT TO:

14 INT. SCHOOL 14

Boys and faculty running through the halls excitedly,

showing newspapers with pictures of Hitler and

Chamberlain on the front. Posters and slogans with

swastikas are slapped up on walls. Some boys mimic

"heiling" to each other.

YOUNG MAN (V.O.)

I'm sure in time a status quo

would have been achieved between

me and my schoolmates were it not

for the cataclysmic events

occurring in that faraway place

none of us had ever seen.

(beat)

Two montjhs after I arrived at

the school World War II broke out

in Europe. Hitler had vowed to

crush the British Empire. The

Boers sharpened their swords in

anticipation.

The six-year-old comes back to his bed in the dorm to

find a swastika carved into it.

CUT TO:

15 INT. DORMITORY - NIGHT 15

The six-year-old sleeps fitfully. There is a MUFFLED

SQUAWK. He wakes. A blanket is thrown over his head.

CUT TO:

16 INT. DARKENED BASEMENT ROOM 16

The Boy is dumped on the floor, the blanket removed. His

eyes open in horror. The room is lit by torches.

Shadows dance fearfully off two dozen boys with swastika

armbands and leather pistol rigs without pistols strapped

to their sides. In front of him on a platform Jaapie

Botha stands, his shirtsleeves rolled to the shoulder,

9.

as another student painfully tattoo-scars his arm with

a swastika, using a knife and blue dye. Seeing the sixyear-

old, Jaapie turns his attention to him and

addresses him in Afrikaans.

JAAPIE:

God has sent Hitler to deliver us

from the English bastards who stole

our country and killed our people.

Heil Hitler!

The other boys chorus in.

ALL:

Heil Hitler!

JAAPIE:

We will swear a blood oath. When

Hitler comes we'll rise up and

kill the Verdomde Rooineks.

ALL:

A blood oath! A blood oath!

Jaapie bends down and grabs the six-year-old by the

shirt front, yanking him up.

JAAPIE:

With your blood.

Jaapie slaps the Boy across the mouth three times.

Blood flows from his mouth and nose. Jaapie dips his

finger in the blood and smears it across his new tattoo.

He holds up his bloodied fingers.

JAAPIE:

We swear allegiance to Adolf

Hitler. Heil Hitler!

ALL:

We swear allegiance to Adolf

Hitler. Heil Hitler!

JAAPIE:

Death to all Englishmen in South

Africa. Heil Hitler!

The chorus repeats.

JAAPIE:

God bless the fatherland. Heil

Hitler!

The voices come back to him stronger.

10.

Heil Hitler!

ALL:

Jaapie grabs the six-year-old again.

JAAPIE:

See what we have in store for

you when Hitler comes, Rooinek.

Hoy!

He gives a command. The boys at the far end of the

room part. The six-year-old's eyes open in terror.

17 HIS POV 17

20 feet away Inkosi Inkosikazi's chicken, his chicken,

is hung from a rafter upside down, haplessly flappingagainst his bonds.

18 BACK TO SCENE 18

No!

BOY:

But before he gets two steps towards the chicken he isgang-tackled and held. Jaapie picks up a sling and arock.

JAAPIE:

For crimes committed against thewhole Boer people. I, JaapieBotha, the judge and Uberfuhrer,

sentence you and your Rooinekkaffir chicken to death. Heil

Hiter.!

Heil Hitler!

ALL:

Jaapie starts to swing the sling around and around.

six-year-old struggles to get free.

The

Heil Hitler!

ALL:

Heil Hitler!

The SLING WHISTLES through the air, faster and faster.

No!

BOY:

Jaapie releases the stone. It flies true, catchingthe SQUAWKING, struggling CHICKEN flush in the chest.

The flapping stops as blood soaks through feathers.

11.

Jaapie flings his hand forward, victorious.

JAAPIE:

Heil Hitler!

ALL:

Heil Hitler!

The Boy takes the opportunity to break loose. He rushes

Jaapie, whose arm is outstretched, putting him off

balance. The Boy catches him low, driving his head into

Jaapie's exposed stomach. Jaapie falls back and gets

the knife used for his tattooing right in his ass.

Jaapie Botha bellows like an enraged bull as he grabs

futiley for the embedded blade. His cohorts laugh,

thinking it tremendously funny, until Jaapie removes

the knife and turns with it, dripping his own blood, his

eyes murderous. The laughter dies. Jaapie's breath

comes hard.

JAAPIE:

Hang him up!

A few boys protest.

BOYS:

Jaapie! No!

But Botha is murderous, intent on revenge.

JAAPIE:

Hang him!

He waves the bloody knife in the air. Three boys grab

the six-year-old and drag him to where the chicken is

hanging. Two more boys throw a rope over the same

rafter. Others bind the struggling boy, trussing his

hands to his sides.

JAAPIE:

You will pay for the deaths of

our grandfathers and grandmothers,

our aunts and uncles. All

Rooineks will pay and you will be

first. Pull!

The boys who tied the rope now yank it over the rafter.

The six-year-old is hoisted up until he is eye-level with

the chicken.

JAAPIE:

In the name of Adolf Hitler and

the fatherland, I sentence you to

die, Verdomde Rooinek.

12.

BOYS:

Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!

Jaapie swings the sling overhead, faster and faster.

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