2020 Filmmaker In Residence
A girl gang in the Warsaw Ghetto hears Nazis raid their building. Three women are Jewish: RACHELA, SONIA, and NELLY, who has a three-month-old baby. Their friend ALINA is a Polish-Catholic smuggler. Nelly convinces Alina – who, as a Catholic, is the only one who can exit the Ghetto—to smuggle her baby out a three-story bathroom window. Nazis storm into the apartment as Alina jumps out the window. Nelly quickly lowers her baby in a box to Alina as Nazis shoot down the bathroom door. Finding nothing, the men leave in search of more children to take to concentration camps as Alina, down below, takes the box in her arms and begins her dangerous journey with Nelly’s baby across the Ghetto Wall.
Nora Mariana Salim is a born-and-raised Californian. After studying creative writing at Stanford University, she worked in documentaries all around the world -- including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, East Asia -- before turning her focus to narrative films. Mostly recently, she worked as a staff writer for an upcoming miniseries executive-produced by Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot). She is a Sundance International Feature Film Program alumna and is currently developing her first feature film and one-hour television series.
Project description and bios courtesy of the Resident