Toronto – Rhombus Media has walked away from Telefilm Canada with $625,000 to make Inside Hana’s Suitcase, having scored at the pilot program for feature-length docs recently put forth by the federal agency, CBC and the Rogers Group of Funds.

The doc, to be directed by Rhombus’ Larry Weinstein (Mozartballs, Beethoven’s Hair), is based on the similarly titled bestseller by Karen Levine, and recounts how a group of Japanese schoolchildren and their teacher tried to unravel the mystery of a Holocaust victim.

The project was picked from 17 proposals as the feature doc with the best chance at theatrical success and is the second title to come through the program, following 27, by writer/director Stuart Samuels.