Love Counters The Most Unimaginable Horrors: Rami Kodeih On His Short "Alina"
Director/Writer/Producer Rami Kodeih has written and directed Award-winning narrative shorts and feature documentaries that have screened at festivals worldwide, including the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, and BFI. His latest short film, Alina, was inspired by the real-life women who smuggled Jewish children to safety during the Holocaust.
As Nazis separate children from their parents in the Warsaw Ghetto, a gang of women risks everything to smuggle their friend's three-month-old baby to safety. Inspired by true events.
This Award-winning film has screened at over 170 film festivals, such as the Oscar-qualifying and BAFTA-qualifying film festivals Flickers’ Rhode Island, and has won over 100 awards, including the Oscar-qualifying Award at Bengaluru International Short Film Festival. We had the pleasure of chatting with Rami about his film, its origins, finding the cast, recreating a period, and much much more!
The story for Alina has roots in real-world events, but how did this remarkable bit of history come into contact with you?
My wife Nora initially had the idea, as her own mother escaped an anti-Semitic regime. She came across information about women smugglers during the Holocaust, and it struck a chord with her. Her passion for this story was infectious, and we started doing research together on the subject, exchanging ideas, and putting the film together.
What resonated with you the most about this particular story?
What resonated with us is how, in the darkest moment in history, these women used acts of love to counter the most unimaginable hate and horror. It feels very timely and relevant to remember both the very real dangers of fascism, hate, and anti-Semitism — and to also remember the heroic women who fought against it, even with very little means at their disposal.
The film has an absolutely incredible cast. How did you get so many talented actors on board and what was it like working with them?
Our cast was incredible to work with! Nora and I reached out to some of them personally, like Alia Shawkat, Rebeca Robles, and Edin Gali. Dorota Puzio, who plays Alina’s mother, was connected to us through the local Polish film community. Erika Soto, who plays Sonia, was recommended by our wonderful line producer Courtney. Our great casting director Jaime helped us put together the rest of the cast.
It was ultimately important to us to find actors who had a personal empathy and understanding of how the historical moments depicted in the film relate to our present moment. We spent time talking with the actors, just as people, about the characters and about the greater intention of the short. Some of our actors were also able to meet with a Holocaust survivor who lived in the Warsaw Ghetto and survived several concentration camps. That was impactful for many of us working on the film: connecting a historical event to a human being who lived it in person and could sit across from us and share their incredible story.
The film’s 25-minute runtime is chock full of tension. Talk a bit about how you orchestrated these tense moments and sustained that feeling for the film’s entirety.
We tried to put ourselves in the shoes of the characters as much as possible and to allow the tension to play out in almost real time. Even in quieter moments in the film, a sense of danger lingers. All the creative choices in the process of making the film, from the script to cinematography to choice of sound and music, were intended to pull the audience in, as if we’re right there with the characters experiencing this tension with them moment to moment.
I can imagine creating a period piece that feels real and tangible is a pretty difficult task, but you and your team absolutely pulled it off and made it look effortless to boot. Can you describe the collaborative conversation that went into sculpting the film’s world through the production design, art direction, and costumes?
Thank you! We tried to do as much historical research as possible in collaboration with the art department to achieve an authentic look in a very limited budget. We also worked closely with Kris Deskins, a costume designer who worked us to ensure the costumes were not only accurate historically but also spoke to each character’s interior life. Kris has an incredible eye for detail and was deeply committed to making everything accurate, even if the costume details weren’t captured on camera, such as the characters’ stockings. She also did an amazing job of creating costume pieces herself that needed to be used for specific plot turns, for example the item of clothing used to smuggle the vaccines and the cherry-print blanket used for the baby.
How did you work with the cinematographer Matthew Plaxco to craft the film’s aesthetic?
Because of lack of budget and resources, I started designing the film before finding the cinematographer. Then I met with Matt and we started chatting, and I explained what I was seeing in terms of mise-en-scène of camera and actors. We discussed my personal experience as a child of war and how my family often lived without electricity. So immediately Matt was able to picture the look and the type of lighting to enhance the rawness and the immersion we were aiming for.
What drew you to the visual arts? How did you get into directing?
I think it goes back to being a child of war, sometimes displaced and moving around, and relying on my imagination as an escape and as a means of exploration. I loved watching movies like Spielberg’s Hook as a kid and would often extend the storyline of the movies I’d watch by playing pretend and concocting improvised “sets” out of furniture and making props with my dad. My passion for filmmaking and directing has its roots in those childhood experiences.
What films or filmmakers have inspired you, your style, or your approach to telling a story?
So many storytellers inspire me — several giants in cinema history like Cuaron, Inarritu, Scorsese, and many others.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
We hope it sparks more conversations about how, while set in the past, this story truly speaks to our current moment — especially the way in which acts of love can be a powerful form of resistance against hate and fascism.
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
We would love to explore a potential feature version of Alina. The film has now screened in 20 countries and over 170 festivals around the world so far…Being able to interact with audiences and festivals, even virtually, has encouraged us to continue exploring the world of these remarkable women.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!