This biographical film is based on the true story of Lea Deutch and Darija Gasteiger, the leading performers in the smash-hit show The Children’s Realm at the Croatian National Theatre during WWII. Lea, nicknamed "the Croatian Shirley Temple", is an immensely popular and talented actress and dancer. Her chief rival is the theatre’s other big rising star, Darija. Lea is Jewish, while Darija is of German descent. The war separates their destinies forever. One girl’s story ends in a wagon to Auschwitz. The other girl survives thanks to a refugee wagon to Vienna. Lea and Darija is the affecting true story of two thirteen-year-old girls who, on the eve of WWII, are enjoying great fame as dancing and acting stars in Zagreb. Their show is a sell-out success; they receive brilliant front-page reviews from the Croatian and European press; and they are filmed by Parisian Pathé and Berlin’s UFA. The film takes place against the backdrop of the Nazi persecution of Jews and German nationals’ flight from communists after the war. It explores how a dramatic friendship is born through entertainment, dance, and anxiety and ultimately, how this friendship leads to a surprising and unexpected conclusion