At the age of fifty-one, Violette Morris was assassinated by the French Resistance ten days before the most significant sea invasion in the history of modern warfare: the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944.
Arguably the greatest woman athlete and sports competitor of the last hundred years, Violette Morris lived an authentic and uncompromising life in a jaded world rife with greed and corruption.
A passionate devotee of women's rights, Violette's mannerisms were unapologetically masculine, and for that, society punished her for daring to wear men’s trousers in violation of a statute enacted during Napoleon's reign in 1800.
They did this by stripping Violette of her right to compete in women’s sports and, in so doing, earn a living.
Violette defied these petty, bourgeoise minds, and her courage inspired other women to stand up for what they passionately believed.
Violette refused to compromise what she demanded women demand for themselves: the autonomy to determine their own path in life.
What makes Violette’s story even more incredible is that in 1930, when her prospects were bleakest, Violette was befriended by no less than Adolph Hitler, who had just assumed absolute power in Germany.
Hitler gave Violette money and a houseboat on the Seine in Paris and later invited her as his personal guest to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
Violette’s association with the leader of the Nazi Party and future Reich Chancellor of Germany would place Violette in harm’s way once World War II started, and indeed, after France fell to the Nazis in 1940.
Violette acquired the attention of the British War Office and the “Strategic Operations Executive,” which ultimately led to her demise.
Friends with the American-born French actress, British spy Josephine Baker, and French filmmaker Jean Cocteau, Violette Morris became a celebrity by being herself and refusing to compromise her principles.
A coroner transported Violette's corpse to the local morgue, where it went unclaimed for several months. She was later buried in Potter's Field in an unmarked common grave.
Now, as to the "shame of it all":
Violette Morris wasn't given a fair shake one hundred years ago, and I assert that it has happened yet again. Allow me to explain:
Shortly after the horrific and cowardly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, I was preparing to submit my Academy-sponsored Nicholls Fellowship entry, "VIOLETTE."
Well before the 2024 Nicholls competition opened for entries in March 2024, I wrote two letters--- the first to the President of the Academy and the second letter to the Academy's Board of Directors, voicing my deep concern in both messages as to whether the proliferation of anti-Semitism here, at home (Hollywood/Los Angeles), accompanied by an equally abusive backlash toward Palestinian-Arabs, had been discussed by the Academy and Nicholls committee before judging entries.
In both cases, my query was the same: "Has the Nicholl's Competition discussed the possibility of anti-Palestinian-Arab discrimination in judging scripts having a Palestinian-Arab protagonist relative to the 2024 screenwriting competition?"
I did NOT receive a reply from the office of the Academy President or the Board of Directors.
I had a definite and legitimate question, given that Violette Morris, the female protagonist of the screenplay I submitted, is of French and Palestinian-Arab descent.
I was notified on August 1st that Violette did not advance to the Quarter-Finals. I was shocked because I had never submitted a screenplay to a screenwriting competition that failed to reach the Quarter-Finals.
That is truth, not braggadocio.
Parenthetically, a screenplay I submitted to a past Nicholl's Fellowship competition titled THE GYPSY made it to both the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals. The work I did on Violette for over a year (Sixteen drafts) had me feeling confident of Violette's overall chances, but then that terrible event took place on October 7th, 2023, and I could see it coming: a "100 % human X Factor" knee-jerk reaction.
THESIS: A script based on a true story with a French and Palestinian-Arab protagonist will not receive a "fair shake" in Hollywood. Can I prove it? No.
I have uploaded VIOLETTE to Stage32 and invite ALL to review it and arrive at their own conclusion(s).
Thanks for your time reading this, and best of luck to you all with your cinematic endeavors,
Respectfully,
Jon Christopher, J.D.
https://www.amazon.com/author/jonchristopher_misty_bay_books
