Moving from one country to another is always challenging, but what happens when immigrants leave behind one economic and political system for a wholly different one? From Red State to Golden State recounts the immigrant experiences of several Jewish families as they leave the Eastern Bloc for the American West.
Since 1973, Los Angeles has welcomed and absorbed more than 25,500 Jewish refugees, the majority of whom are from the former Soviet Union. The City of West Hollywood has the second largest concentration of Soviet Jewish immigrants outside of New York City. Through interviews, some of these émigrés and their American-born children share personal stories of persecution in the Soviet Union, of the challenges of adapting to life in the U.S., and of how they identify with their cultural heritage. From Red State to Golden State provides important insights and gives context to the immigrant experience that is the cornerstone of American society.
From Red State to Golden State, directed by Mark Hayes, is a project of Donna Stein and the Wende Museum, Culver City, CA.
