Francisca Halamajowa hid 16 of her Jewish neighbors from Nazis, including the grandfather of Penn State professor Judy Maltz.

Moshe Maltz kept a diary detailing his time with Halamajowa, a Polish Catholic woman who passed herself off as a Nazi sympathizer to keep her neighbors safe. Excerpts from that diary, and testimonials from other Jews saved by Halamajowa are the inspiration for No. 4 Street of Our Lady, a documentary made by Penn State professors Maltz, Barbara Bird and Richie Sherman.

The filmmakers hope to show the documentary at film festivals soon, but its first screening will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday at the State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave. Tickets are free and available at the box office.

Aside from interviewing people who were touched by Halamajowa's kindness, the filmmakers also took four of the survivors she saved back to Sokal, Poland, where they found the house where Halamajowa hid them and other historical landmarks.

Maltz said coming to Penn State allowed her to finally publicize the story of her grandfather's savior.

"It's something I'd fantasized about for many years," she said. "I moved here to Penn State and I met some very talented filmmakers."

Bird and Sherman, both film professors, were excited to work on the project after they read Moshe Maltz's diary.

"I was interested in the fact that it was her family's story," Bird said.

She added there are many films about major figures involved in World War II, such as Adolph Hitler, but she prefers hearing the stories of "extraordinary acts by ordinary people."

Learning about the stories of individual Holocaust victims is an important supplement to learning about the dates and statistics pertaining to the Holocaust, said Linda Short, Jewish studies professor.

"The Jewish victims each have a different experience and story to tell," she said.

Short will attend the film, and is encouraging her students to do the same.

Short said the fact that Halamajowa was not Jewish, but helped Jews anyway, is especially admirable.

"When a story includes gentiles who chose to help instead of harm, it's important to acknowledge and applaud that," she said.

Maltz said she hopes the film raises questions in the minds of its viewers, like how they would act under similar circumstances, and "what prompts people to be cruel and what prompts humanitarianism."

Mike Negra, executive director for the State Theatre, said he was excited to work with the filmmakers.

"Because it was produced by Penn Staters, we certainly wanted to be the place that it was debuted," he said.

Negra and Sherman, who is the adviser to the Student Film Organization, have worked together on the organization's annual student film festival.

Sherman called the State Theatre a "nice, warm environment," that will be an ideal place to host the more than 500 people they are expecting to attend the screening.

Sherman said showing the film at the State Theatre is a way of thanking all the local people who contributed to the film, and it may also inspire local filmmakers to tell their own stories.

"Many people think filmmaking can only be done in Hollywood," Sherman said, adding that their film is proof that people can make good films even in a small town like State College, Sherman said.