Alina

Greetings again from the darkness. World War II continues to be mined for cinematic gold. Very talented director Rami Kodeih working with a terrific script from Nora Mariana Salim delivers a tension-packed 25 minute short film likely to put a knot in your gut. It's inspired by true events - actually heroic efforts that played out in various ways and involved many courageous souls.

In this story, a group of Polish women risk their lives to trick the Nazi patrol and smuggle a three month old baby out of harm's way. Keeping every possible baby off the trains is the goal, and nothing will stop the women from trying. Alia Shawkat is best known for her comedic roles, but here she is stunning as the poker-faced woman who goes nose-to-nose with a Nazi officer chillingly played by William Mark McCullough. He is relentless in his pursuit of babies in order to hit the required quota for the night. Rebeca Robles co-stars as the baby's mother.

Also relentless is the tension and stress we feel watching the women execute the plan to save this baby. They seem to realize their own fates have been decided, and saving the future is the battle they can fight ... and one they must fight.