This autumn, Norfolk will become the backdrop for one of World War II’s most remarkable true stories.
Director Timothy Hines and Pendragon Pictures, alongside producers Susan Goforth, Kimberly Olsen, Lawrence Scott, and Jeff Wallner, will begin production on The Red Head, a historical thriller based on the life of Dutch resistance fighter Hannie Schaft.
Little known in Britain but revered in the Netherlands, Schaft was a law student who believed in justice, human rights, and the rule of law. Her life changed when she watched Jewish friends lose their freedoms under Nazi occupation. What began as outrage became resistance.
By the final years of the war, Schaft had become one of the Nazis’ most feared enemies. Reportedly the only woman on Adolf Hitler’s most-wanted list, she carried out dangerous missions against Nazi officers and collaborators. Often underestimated because she was young, intelligent, and attractive, Schaft used those assumptions to devastating effect as an assassin for the Dutch resistance.
Yet The Red Head is more than a war film. It explores the woman behind the legend.
The film examines Schaft’s friendships, emotional struggles, survivor guilt, and the psychological cost of fighting evil at close range. It asks a timeless question: What happens when someone who believes in law discovers that the law itself has been hijacked by tyranny?
Captured in 1945, Schaft was imprisoned and executed by the Nazis in the dunes of Bloemendaal just weeks before liberation. She was only twenty-four.
Production will film throughout Norfolk, whose canals, historic architecture, and period streets closely resemble 1940s Haarlem, bringing this powerful European story to British audiences.
The production team brings significant experience to the project. Timothy Hines and Susan Goforth previously collaborated on 10 Days in a Madhouse, starring Christopher Lambert and Kelly Le Brock. Kimberly Olsen’s credits include the upcoming Paper Tiger starring Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, and Miles Teller. Lawrence Scott’s career includes PBS productions and the Martha Graham Dance Company, while Jeff Wallner’s credits include projects featuring Shirley MacLaine, Ansel Elgort, Tim Roth, and Timothy Spall.
The Nazis called Hannie Schaft dangerous.
History remembers her as heroic.
The Red Head aims to reveal the remarkable young woman who was both.
