Musia in the forest
A child fights to survive the Holocaust without surrendering her hope, faith, or humanity.
“Death was always one step behind me.”
Charlene Schiff
Based on a remarkable true story
Child of the Forest follows one of them: Shulamit “Musia” Perlmutter, later known as Charlene Schiff.
A world changed forever
Before the war, Musia’s life was rooted in family and community. The German occupation tears that world apart: her father is taken, the family is forced into the ghetto, and every familiar source of safety begins to disappear.
When an escape plan along a riverbank fails, Musia is separated from her mother. Alone, she enters the forest believing that her family may still be alive—and that she must survive long enough to find them.
She learns to read the forest, shelter beneath leaves and branches, and endure the cold—while fighting to preserve the humanity the world around her is trying to erase.
One life. Three interwoven journeys.
The limited series moves across three periods of Charlene’s life, revealing how memory can be buried, carried, and ultimately transformed into testimony.
A child fights to survive the Holocaust without surrendering her hope, faith, or humanity.
As a young woman, Charlene builds a future while being urged to leave her memories unspoken.
Later in life, Charlene confronts the past and discovers the strength to share what happened.
The world of the series
These early drawings and environment studies establish the visual language of the project. They are development concepts, not final photography or finished production designs.
Production design notebook
The concept boards combine hand-drawn spatial studies with material palettes, lighting references, practical details, and finished environment visualizations—revealing how each location is being shaped for the screen.
Additional environment studies
These supporting concepts expand the visual journey from family life and community to confinement, forced labor, and separation.
From page to screen
The limited series is based on Child of the Forest: Based on the Life Story of Charlene Perlmutter Schiff by Jack L. Grossman and James Buchanan.
The book was named the 2019 Best Indie Book Award Non-Fiction Winner.
Director & Co-Writer
Joanne Hock is an award-winning writer, director, and cinematographer whose career spans more than 30 years across feature films, documentaries, television, and national and international commercial production.
Beginning as an advertising copywriter and rising to Creative Director, Joanne found her calling on location and on set. She went on to work with Producers Guild of America producers, international advertising agencies, and Fortune 500 companies before building an extensive directing career. Her feature credits include The Ultimate Legacy with Brian Dennehy and Bill Cobbs, Trinity Goodheart with James Hong, Discarded Things, Angels Unaware, Redneck Roots, Heaven Sent, and When We Last Spoke, starring Cloris Leachman, Melissa Gilbert, Darby Camp, and Corbin Bernsen. When We Last Spoke received the Austin Film Festival Audience Award.
A Nicholl Fellowship screenwriting finalist and an Americans for the Arts workshop recipient at the Sundance Institute, Joanne has also directed more than 30 episodes of true-crime television for networks including Investigation Discovery, A&E Biography, and Lifetime. Her documentary work includes Purple Dreams, which premiered before a sold-out audience at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and was later presented at Lincoln Center, and Martin Hill: Camera Man, introduced by Leonard Maltin at its world premiere.
Executive Producer & Co-Author
Jack L. Grossman is the co-author of the award-winning nonfiction book Child of the Forest and an executive producer of its screen adaptation, carrying forward the life and testimony of Holocaust survivor Charlene Perlmutter Schiff.
After hearing Charlene’s testimony during a visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jack reached out to her and her husband and began documenting the story that might otherwise have remained largely unknown. Published in 2018, Child of the Forest received the 2019 Best Indie Book Award for Non-Fiction, and Jack’s cover design received a 2020 Best Indie Book Award.
Jack’s creative work also includes award-winning advertising, design, songwriting, and product invention. His community leadership has earned humanitarian recognition and has supported organizations including the Boys & Girls Clubs and Dove House Children’s Advocacy Center, where he helped lead fundraising and facility-development efforts. His commitment to this series is rooted in a promise to preserve Charlene’s legacy and share her warning against indifference, intolerance, ignorance, and injustice.
Producer
Marshall M. Silverman has built an extraordinary career at the intersection of film, law, and business affairs, contributing to the development and production of more than 40 feature films in New York, London, and Los Angeles.
Born and raised in New York, Marshall studied both film and law before beginning his career as an entertainment attorney representing clients in theater, music, and film. His expertise soon caught the attention of Twentieth Century Fox, which brought him to Los Angeles. There, he served as a production attorney before moving into executive roles at several studios, including 23 years at Warner Bros. as Vice President and Senior Motion Picture Production Counsel.
Marshall played a key role in shaping some of Hollywood’s most successful franchises, including Batman, Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, Lethal Weapon, and Ocean’s Eleven. His credits also include acclaimed films such as Raging Bull, Kramer vs. Kramer, Contact, The Perfect Storm, The Witches of Eastwick, Disclosure, Grumpy Old Men, The Pelican Brief, and Fame.
Beyond the boardrooms and film sets, Marshall’s story reaches back to a dairy farm in Goshen, New York, where he learned the value of hard work. Those early lessons carried him through a distinguished career marked by creativity, integrity, and leadership in the film industry.
Charlene’s legacy
Charlene Schiff devoted her testimony to challenging four forces that allow evil to take hold.
Currently in development
Child of the Forest is part of the slate supported by The American Hometown Entertainment Fund.
This page describes a project in development. Concept art and creative elements may change as development continues. Historical subject matter is presented with care and respect for the people whose lives and testimony inspire the series.