My story

I was born in Israel one month after my parents escaped from the former Soviet Union. It was the 1970's, Cold War years. They were among the very first to make it to the Promised Land.

My father was a film director, my mother a screenwriter. They risked everything in their pursuit of freedom. It defined them. Artistic freedom, freedom to speak their minds, freedom to tell the truth.

They were willing to die for it. 

In Israel, life proved challenging in new and unfamiliar ways. A new language. A new culture. A new baby. Not enough work. Not enough opportunity. Strangers in a strange land. It nearly broke them.  

Eventually they realized their odyssey was not yet complete.

They packed up once more and went in search of their dreams again, somewhere beyond the horizon.

They found Canada, in Toronto for almost a decade.

Eventually, the United States beckoned. The journey continued. So much closer to Hollywood now. It was a time of hope. Maybe this time, maybe this year, maybe this script, maybe this project...

Maybe one lifetime is not enough for such a journey. 

They got so close to Hollywood, close enough for me to catch the movie bug, college at UCLA. Then film School at USC. 

My parents brought me to America, where I'm now fortunate enough to make movies of my own, free to speak my mind, free to tell the truth. 

And free to strive to live up to some small part of the sacrifices they made and the risks they overcame to get me here.