Odessa… Odessa !

“When I read Isaac Babel’s short stories about Odessa, I found a city enriched with exuberant characters full of humour. The first ‘movement’ of this three-part film deals with the remnants of this community, and shows Odessa as it is today. In the past it was magnificent and cosmopolitan, but its beauty had now faded and its life is disappearing, like the Jewish community that now counts only a few people. The other two parts deal with immigration and exile. Following those who left the city, I arrived at Little-Odessa in New York and Ashdod in Israel. In both these port cities, rather than adapting themselves to a new life, they have created an imaginary Odessa.” (Michale Boganim)