America: Back!

Yes, I am back in the States. Got in on two Sundays ago and have been spending time with the family. This included a Halloween thing at Disney with my niece who was, and this is not conjecture but based on empirical fact, the most adorable Snow White ever. For the record, I was some sort of pusticle-sporting zombie thing thanks to the wet-on tattoos my sister brought over since she disagreed with my conjecture that my Halloween costume would be "Snow White's Uncle".

I'm in Orlando for about another week before heading up to Augusta, Georgia for about a couple of weeks with the dual goals of finishing editing my film and spending time with my father, whom I haven't spent more than a few dozen hours with since I was 16. It's time for both of those to be taken to the next level.

I've been off the radar for a while because, frankly, I didn't want to tell anyone what I was doing. The last month in Ukraine saw me getting connections in Ukraine with both ANTIFA and Skinhead groups in Zhytomyr and Kyiv. ANTIFA is a group of guys that get together and find skinheads to beat up. They asked me to come film them doing it, but the night I went out with them, they didn't find any. After contacting the skinheads, the ones from Zhytomyr threatened me, but the Kyiv skinheads surprisingly opened up and gave me hours of interviews about their beliefs, how they recruit and train others and about their "actions", where they find Jews or minorities and beat them up. One of the interviewed skinheads was wanted by the cops and another was awaiting trial in January for the murder of a Korean, who died in the hospital after being beaten up by the skinheads. They also asked me to come film one of their actions. Although it would have been strong footage for the documentary, after some soul searching I declined. I simply could not watch someone being beaten up and not intervene. The fact that I was willing to film ANTIFA do the same to skinheads is a hypocrisy I don't feel like exploring.

That footage, along with many, many interviews with Jews who had been attacked in what the Jewish media, at least, is calling a "surge" in antisemitic activity in Ukraine, is now what will be the film, with the Holocaust interviews and footage serving as a historical framework.

I've settled into my new place (I'm renting the second floor of a friend's two story house) and set up my editing work station. Editing isn't as exciting as shooting, but it's not as exhausting, either, and I've welcomed the slow pace of life after months of what felt like living on marshrutkas and trains, always at the beck and call of a text message that might possibly lead to an interview.

In any case, it's good to be back.