Director's Statement.
When I approached the subject for my new picture, I perceived it from the story's first line. I have always wanted to tell
a story about my roots and the Bukharian Jewish community in immigration.
When I met the People's Artist of Uzbekistan, the leading bukharian traditional dancer in our community, she briefly shared her personal story. I thought that her story is the type I would want to make a movie about. Her journey is an exciting juxtaposition of life in immigration and the struggle of old traditions not lining up with the new life in America. My fascination is about the struggles of tradition vs. contemporary, exile vs. adaptation, virtue vs. respect,
family vs. society, sacred vs. vulnerable, and true vs. false.
At the beginning of my idea for this picture, I was eager to tell this story, integrating language, culture, and the life around this community as immigrants. I spend most of my life around Bukharian Jews, yet most of the world does not
know who they are or where they come from.
The story's premises are in a small community in Queens, New York. With a dream of a daughter and her mother, an ordinary family, questions they never thought they would have to ask. Surrounded by the vibe of the old days back home, the story explores the vibrant life they live in America and the adventures they experience in a new place far from the motherland. Being an immigrant involves adaptation to a new culture, new attitudes, new social life, and, most of all, a new language. The authenticity is vital in this film, as it is now in the streets of Forest Hill in Queens, NY. In this picture, I want to commemorate the Bukharian language as it is; therefore, it will all be a combination of Russian and Bukharian languages.
My filmmaking journey began when I was 16. Always behind the camera, wondering how this magic works. I burrowed my path in this world and found my reason when I saw 'Amadeus' by Milos Forman. Watching films such as 'Gegen die Wand' (Head-on) by faith akin, 'The Return' by Andrey Zvyagintsev, 'Burnt by the Sun', and '12' (Twelve) by Nikita Mikhalkov, 'Late Marriage' by Dover Kosashvili, and so many other films that had a tremendous impact on me. They all drove me to write this picture––a family drama with its ups and downs, its pros and cons, as if it could happen in any family with its perspective on life and community.
Spending over 25 years making documentary films about the Bukharian Jewish community, I know it and its people well. It is an outstanding habitat for stories. Many of the feature films I worked in different capacities,
whether Director, Senior Film Editor or Director of Photography, won domestic and international awards in major film festivals. I have never seen the language or the culture I grew up within my childhood on the screen. I was constantly intrigued by the fact that no film or any visual storytelling form has ever captured it.
Name any ethnicity, and you will find a film about it. If you think about Bukharian Jews––none.
I am confident that this film will be an excellent source of information about the distinct culture that is rich, mysterious, and full of history.
Did I mention authenticity? I strive to cast F. Murray Abraham for this picture. When this happens, Mr. Murray Abraham will speak his role in Russian.
Also, seeing a rising star–actor Michael Aronov, a member of our community–is my casting goal as well!
Ariel Roubinoff
Director