MY BABUSHKAS is a magical realist, non-fiction film that tells the story of a series of visits from my long-dead, Eastern European, Jewish, female ancestors. Mysterious, primal, and completely unexpected, these women came to me during the three week period before I was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma, a type of cancer. As I lay in bed, chest tight and unable to breathe, I wondered if whatever was growing inside my lungs was going to kill me–and if so, how soon. It was in these moments that the babushkas would reveal themselves.
Through breathtaking imagery and rich sound design, MY BABUSHKAS uses the experience of my cancer, the terror it surfaces, and the babushkas’ presence to explore larger questions of intergenerational trauma, Jewish identity, ancestral and cellular wisdom, and the likely cause of my illness: exposure to the more than 350 toxins that hung in the air near Ground Zero for months after 9/11.
Surprising truths emerge from my experiences with these ancient, wise women. As the film evolves, it chronicles how these truths change me and the way I exist in the world.
To watch the trailer, click here.
Photo by perel hana b. sessler
