ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
ZIGZAG examines the physical and intellectual zigzags of the refugee crisis under the prism of a female refugee, Svetlana Boym, who as a Harvard professor became one of the most respected voices of modernity redefining what it means to live between borders.

SYNOPSIS
Inspired by a lingering image of hair blowing in the wind in an Antonioni film, at the age of 19, Svetlana Boym decided to emigrate and had to leave her country without her parents. She was stripped of citizenship and told that she would never be able to return to Leningrad or see her family again. She emigrated from the Soviet Union, renouncing her citizenship for the chance to reach the United States, only to find herself detained in a refugee camp in Vienna. An unzippable suitcase filled with obsolete things, a roll of the foreign toilet paper, and endless walks along the camp wall were the remainder of Svetlana's memories from her refugee camp from the early 1980s. No pictures from the transit camp had been preserved and no address.

ZIGZAG is touching upon themes of emigration through Svetlana Boym's example and ideas regarding marginalized histories and personal struggles, always approached with the most intellectual humor as key ingredients to the 21st century’s ongoing efforts to foster a better world.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Maria Zervos
PRODUCER Maria Zervos