Before she turned 15, Ela studied art with a famous painter. She performed a leading role in an opera and rubbed elbows with renowned composers and musicians. She appeared in a film directed by a famous movie star. Ela was not a prodigy or a child star. She was simply a child imprisoned in Terezin, a Nazi concentration camp unlike any other. Within the confines of this concentration camp, an underground cultural haven emerged. Secret concerts and plays took place in basements; makeshift art galleries were furtively created in barracks; clandestine lectures and readings were held in attics; and children received covert lessons. Children of the Model Ghetto tells the story of Ela and her Terezin bunkmates. This film illustrates the persistence and resilience of the human spirit, the endurance of humanity against inhumanity, and the necessity of artistic expression to human existence.