Inspired by true stories that deserve to be told.

Fox in the

Shadows

Fox in the

Shadows

Resistance, Courage, & Empowerment

A short narrative film in development.

FOX IN THE SHADOWS is a short narrative film currently in development, with production planned for Autumn 2026. The project is designed as a contained, character-driven story that can be realized with a focused cast, limited locations, and an emphasis on performance, atmosphere, and historical authenticity.

The film is being developed with the intent to partner with cultural institutions, brands, and organizations that support historically grounded storytelling and the preservation of cultural memory. At this stage, the project is seeking development and production funding to support period-accurate design, language coaching, and a responsible, carefully staged approach to depicting violence involving young characters.

This page serves as a development overview and pitch resource for grant committees, cultural partners, and potential sponsors.

FOX IN THE SHADOWS is a historically grounded short film inspired by real stories from the Dutch resistance. It centers on female identity, cultural survival, and the quiet rituals that endure under occupation. The project approaches its subject with restraint and care, prioritizing authenticity, cultural memory, and ethical storytelling.

Logline

In Nazi-occupied Holland, 14-year-old Frieda secretly follows her resistance-fighter sister on a deadly mission. When the operation unravels in the forest, Frieda must make a split-second decision that catapults her from innocent observer to reluctant warrior.

directors Statement

FOX IN THE SHADOWS is inspired by the real experiences of Freddie and Truus Oversteegen, teenage sisters who joined the Dutch resistance during World War II. When I first encountered their story, what struck me was not the scale of their actions, but their intimacy. How close violence lived to everyday life, and how young they were when they were forced to carry it.

This film is not about heroism or strategy. It is about a moment. Specifically, the moment when a child realizes the world will not protect her, and that love may demand more than she ever imagined giving.

At the center of the film is Frieda, a girl who believes she understands what her older sister does, until she is confronted with the reality of it. Frieda follows Trudi not because she intends to act, but because she wants to belong. She imitates before she understands. When violence erupts, it is not planned or anticipated; it is emotional, reactive, and irreversible.

I was careful not to foreshadow this moment or frame it as inevitable. I wanted it to feel sudden and wrong, as these moments often do in real life. Meaning arrives afterward in the quiet adoption of behaviors that once belonged to someone else.

FOX IN THE SHADOWS explores the tension between innocence and necessity, between intimacy and brutality. It is a story about sisterhood, inheritance, and the cost of survival; Especially for those who are forced to grow up too soon.

The Story

Set in Nazi-occupied Netherlands in 1944, FOX IN THE SHADOWS follows sisters Trudi (20) and Frieda (14) as they navigate life under occupation. Trudi is embedded in the Dutch resistance, using charm and misdirection as tools of war. Frieda, still clinging to childhood, is drawn to Trudi’s poise without fully understanding what it costs.

On an evening "mission", Trudi enters a local tavern targeting an SS officer, playing the role he expects in order to disarm him. Frieda secretly follows, observing from the edges, learning posture, and performance without yet grasping the stakes.

Trudi's plan is to lure the officer into the woods, where she intends to execute him away from witnesses. The plan collapses in an instant. The officer recognizes the threat, overpowers Trudi, and the situation turns brutal and immediate. Hidden nearby, Frieda witnesses the brutality of war first hand. She is forced into a split-second decision driven by love and panic rather than training, crossing a line she never expected to cross.

In the aftermath, the film shifts from the act itself to what remains: grief, survival, and the quiet inheritance of a role passed from sister to sister. FOX IN THE SHADOWS is not a story of triumph, but of necessity. How war is indiscriminate at who is affects. How it can weaponizes intimacy, and how innocence can be lost in a single irreversible moment.

Core Themes

These themes bring emotional intimacy to an untold corner of history, making the story both personal and universally relevant. speaking to modern audiences, and festivals seeking fresh, character-driven perspectives on true wartime narratives.

Sisterhood & Legacy

At its heart, FOX IN THE SHADOWS is a story about sisters. Knowledge, language, and behavior are passed down quietly, often without explanation. What begins as imitation becomes responsibility, and intimacy becomes the means through which survival is learned.

The Strength of Femininity

The film considers how femininity can become a tool under occupation. Charm, appearance, and social expectation are not presented as empowerment, but as strategies shaped by environment. Roles performed in order to endure.

The Loss of Innocence

The film explores the fragile boundary between childhood and adulthood in times of war. Frieda does not seek violence; she is pulled into it by proximity, love, and circumstance. The story examines how necessity can force irreversible choices before one is ready to make them.

Sacrifice in Silence

Rather than portraying resistance as heroic or triumphant, the film focuses on its emotional toll. Violence leaves residue. Survival carries weight. The film asks what remains after an act deemed “necessary” has been committed.

Partnership Context

FOX IN THE SHADOWS is being developed with the intention of partnering with brands and cultural organizations whose values align with historical preservation, female identity, and cultural memory.

The film treats everyday objects, social spaces, and personal rituals as part of lived history — not as spectacle or product moments. Any partnerships are approached with restraint and respect, ensuring that collaborations support authenticity rather than interrupt it.

Culture & Alignment

Set within Dutch homes and social spaces, the film reflects a distinctly Dutch cultural experience of occupation — one rooted in community, restraint, and continuity.

Female-driven Empowerment Narratives

Theme Comps:

• The Hunger Games (2012)

• Hidden Figures (2016)

• Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Inspired True Stories

Theme Comps:

• Dunkirk (2017)

• The Book Thief (2013)

• Unbroken (2014)

Sisterhood & Sacrifice

Theme Comps:

• The Hunger Games (2012)

• A Quiet Place (2018)

• Little Women (2019)

Target Audience Summary

Fox in the Shadows aims to connect emotionally with viewers who appreciate nuanced storytelling, period authenticity, and themes of identity, sacrifice, and female empowerment.

Female-driven Empowerment Narratives

Theme Comps:

• The Hunger Games (2012)

• Hidden Figures (2016)

• Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Inspired True Stories

Theme Comps:

• Dunkirk (2017)

• The Book Thief (2013)

• Unbroken (2014)

Sisterhood & Sacrifice

Theme Comps:

• The Hunger Games (2012)

• A Quiet Place (2018)

• Little Women (2019)

Why Now?

Although FOX IN THE SHADOWS is set during World War II, it is rooted in questions that remain urgently contemporary: how violence enters private life, how identity is shaped by circumstance, and how young people inherit responsibilities created by forces beyond their control.

The film draws inspiration from the real experiences of teenage girls involved in the Dutch resistance, whose stories complicate familiar narratives of heroism by foregrounding intimacy, restraint, and cost. These accounts feel especially resonant today, as conversations around gender, agency, and historical memory continue to evolve.

By focusing on a small, personal moment rather than large-scale spectacle, the project aims to preserve nuance and human complexity. With the added goal of honoring the past while speaking to the present. FOX IN THE SHADOWS is not intended as a history lesson, but as an act of cultural remembrance grounded in empathy.

Festival Strategy & Distribution

Production & Post

Filming in Sept-Oct 2026 with post-production completed by March 2027 to meet 2027/28 festival submissions.

Festival Circuit 2027

Total Campaign Duration: 18 months Start of Festival Submissions: June 2026 Public Release: After final major festival screening (target mid-2027)

Targeting mid to top-tier North American festivals including premiering at Palm Springs International ShortFest (the largest U.S. short film festival, great industry exposure. Ideal U.S. or world premiere.), Aspen Shortsfest (CO), Indy Shorts International Film Festival (IN), HollyShorts Film Festival (CA), Santa Barbara International Film Festival (CA), Cleveland International Film Festival (OH).

The Characters

Trudi Vos

Trudi Vos is 20—young, beautiful, and deeply embedded in the Dutch resistance. After losing her mother, she became both soldier and protector, leading missions by night and shielding her sister, Frieda, by day. Trudi doesn’t wear a uniform, but she thinks like a tactician—measured, poised, and dangerous when she needs to be. She fights with charm, strategy, and unshakable resolve, all while carrying the quiet weight of what she’s seen—and what she’s willing to do.

Frieda Vos

Frieda Vos is just 15, but war has already redrawn the shape of her childhood. Sheltered by her older sister Trudi, after the loss of their mother, she’s spent years watching from the sidelines. Intelligent, intuitive, and braver than she realizes, Frieda is thrust into a moment that claims everything: her family, and her innocence. What begins as curiosity turns to survival, and transformative. We witness not only the loss of her childhood, but the effect of war, turning the young into hardened warriors.

SS OFFICER

SS Officer

Well-dressed, well-spoken, and utterly chilling. The SS Officer in Fox in the Shadows is more than a symbol of Nazi authority, he’s a predator in plain sight. Beneath his calm demeanor lies a sharp intuition and a hunger for control. He enjoys the cat-and-mouse tension of power, especially with women he thinks serve him. But what he doesn’t see is that the trap isn’t his to set. He brings with him the seductive danger of the regime: clean on the surface, rotted underneath. He’s the man who smiles while hunting the enemy.

Frieda's Transformation

The heart of this story. Offering a universal, relatable hook, particularly for younger audiences and festival juries.

Visual Style & Tone

A Hauntingly Beautiful Blend of Light and Shadow

Act I — Mildred is Alive

Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- A grounded, domestic frame that supports the realism of Mildred’s lonely but ordinary morning. The wider ratio gives a sense of space above and below, but keeps the sides of the frame tighter, boxing her in.
Lighting: Warm, Motivated by Sunrise
- Light spills in through the windows with a warm, golden hue, evoking the feeling of life.
- The kitchen, dining area, and front room glow gently with morning softness, suggesting the remains of a daily ritual she performs out of habit, not purpose.
Mood: Static but Familiar
- Compositions are still, centered, and locked-off with no extra movement, merely observational. Subtly emphasizing her boxed-in world.

Act II — Death’s Arrival

Aspect Ratio Shift: 2.4:1 Cinemascope
- This new aspect ratio introduces subtle tension and unease—a world that is more cinematic, and less alive.
  Anamorphic lenses warm the edge of the frame, suggesting an in-between world.
Lighting: Soft, Cool, Cloud-Diffused Daylight
- The natural light remains motivated by the same windows, but no longer feels warm. The sunlight is now softer, cooler, and more indirect. Subtle gray-blues and gentle shadows. No golden warmth.
Atmosphere: Subtle Haze from the Shower
- A slight visible haze lingers in the air, grounded in story logic: the shower was running when Mildred died. It adds a supernatural glow to the space, softening edges, and textures.

Key Team Members

Writer/Producer

Chris Liles

Chris Liles is an experienced writer/producer/director whose talents bring depth and cinematic vision to Fox in the Shadows. He has previously written, produced, and directed the award nominated short film The Promise (2024), and is currently in post production on Purgatory Pending (2026), demonstrating his all-in creative approach. With a background that includes underwater cinematography and camera work on high-profile TV programs like Shark Week and Top Chef, Chris brings a technical precision and visual flair that creates compelling storytelling.