K A T Z ’ S : T H A T ’ S A L L !

a documentary projectby Yura Dashevsky

8747 26 AvenueBrooklyn NY 11214

mobile 917 2078273home 718 4495654

email:info@mynyco.comtest reel: katzdeli.com/kino

more: katzdeli.com

Copyright Yura Dashevsky © 2005My New York Company

New York 2005

Make it official: it’s about Katz’s Delicatessen, on East Houston and Ludlow

Street, on New York’s Lower East Side.

Katz’s has been around since 1888. It was opened by Eastern European Jews onManhattan’s Lower East Side to serve the immigrant community of one of the mostoverpopulated places on Earth at the time (234,849 per square mile in 1890, over3 times more than the New York City average then).

The place is famous. Four US Presidents have sampled their food, which is a tra-ditional and quintessential New York deli fare. The faux-wood walls of Katz’s aredecorated with the photos of celebrities who dined here - from Jerry Lewis to JoeTorre, via NYC mayors – and these are just those who allowed a photo-op at arather intimate yet momentous encounter with a monumental pastrami sandwich.

Katz’s was part of many NY-based films, notably “When Harry met Sally” and“Donnie Brasco”. Numerous TV programs featured the place for a few minutes asone of the country’s most revered places from historical and culinary standpoints.

At one point the “Candid Camera” crew found (and removed) a small alligator intheir ladies’ room.

“Send a Salami to Your Boy in the Army” is another thing that Katz’s is famous for:shipping their products to APO addresses overseas since WWII. Obviously, this tradition continues today.

People from all walks of life come here to eat great food, not to be seen – NewYorkers for their lunch, the displaced New Yorkers who treat their mothers tomatzo ball soup, the tourists from abroad and the busloads of school kids andretirees from Florida and Maryland. But the food here comes with much more thanjust carbs and calories. It may also be the only place in New York at least, wherepeople take a photograph of their sandwich before eating it.

The formalities: the place is huge for a New York deli – in fact, the biggest. Thelighting is anything but intimate. They give you an old-fashioned ticket when youcome in, and you have to wait in line to get your pastrami sandwich. If you’re nottoo ugly (a joke, but seriously, leave your troubles outside), they give you a taste –you may want it juicy or you may want it lean. You’re free to reciprocate with a buckor two.Then you take your tray and start looking around for a place to sit down. You’ll find it, not to worry. And then comes the first bite, and after that with the mouth full – the bob, the nod,the motion of a head, the very thing that got me thinking about getting it all ontape.

Yep. Ja. Oui. Si. That’s it. Words are gone – the mouth is full anyway: “that’s thereal deal” is how this bob translates into English as well as into any other language.“Some things are still here” is the translator’s second option.

It’s good to have someone sitting across the table in whose eyes you’d get aninstant confirmation of this fact.

That’s what Katz’s is – seemingly careless about anything but pastrami sandwich-es, the comfort food place, the place least fitted for spiritual experiences, where,nevertheless, rituals are born every minute (here comes a whiff of Ellis Island): thefoothold; the ark. A random glimpse of bliss, all the more precious. An amazingmeta-metaphor. For New York. For life.

In this world of postmodern irony Katz’s stands as a giant walk-in installation, allmelamine, faux this and cheap that, that never fails to deliver a perfectly old-school catatharsis (even the exceptions from this rule are in a way catharctic).

Some call it a heart-stopping food (don’t forget your fries, by the way, and soda). Boy, we oughtta grow us some stronger hearts.

I have an exclusive from Katz’s Delicatessen to film a documentary there, a loca-tion release, and personal releases from those whom I have taped so far (staff, oneof the owners) – yes, I went there with a half-decent DV camera to make sure thatwhat I see in this place with a naked eye and restless heart, could be captured bysilicone chips and magnetic particles (http://www.katzdeli.com/kino).

As you may already have guessed, I have a long list of topics that I’d like to touchupon in this documentary (that would be anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes long),but the main thing is to be there and get things on tape as they happen: and to getthe people whose pictures are on Katz’s walls to tell us why they go there.

A renowned director of photography, Ken Kelsch, A.S.C. (“Big Night”, “TheImpostors”, and many more) has kindly agreed to work with me on this project.

A loving eye is key.

See what I’m seeing…

We could start with Estelle Reiner reminiscing briefly on how an episode shot atKatz’s Delicatessen, where she had a great deal of input, made her son’s movie ahit and attuned the world’s eyes (and taste buds) to the New York deli we’re talk-ing about.

“I’ll have what she’s having”.

And one of those Katz’s old-timers from Florida (some of the old owners’ familymembers or just the patrons who’ve come here for 50-odd years or even more)would, in a way, counter that the place was always what it is, and if the so-calledworld had discovered it 15 years ago from a movie – too bad for the so-calledworld.

And then we have a run-through at Katz’s, a dynamic sequence of shots that intro-duce that corner of East Houston and Ludlow, the exterior, the entrance and theticket you get inside, the counter and the cutters behind it, the busboys, the wait-ers and the eating crowd, the owners who are usually present…

The fact that Neil Armstrong had a party catered by Katz's and said "Your food isout of this world!" – needs to be mentioned, of course we'll ask for an on-camerainterview.

...and go into the quiet of a morning here – early gawkers looking in the windowsthat will be steamed over when it's cold outside, ketchup bottles getting their dailyalignment, fresh sawdust spread on the floor behind the counter, photos on thewalls straightened up, the ticket man getting ready…

They say that when Katz's Delicatessen's owners decided to get a professionallymade billboard outside, they had a painter to come over. As one would imagine,he was a fellow from the same Lower East Side neighborhood, one of those whoseartistic talents slightly surpassed his command of the English language. So heasked them, "What would you like me to write there?" They stopped to think for asecond (as it is documented in "The Historic Shops and Restaurants of New YorkCity", by Ellen Williams and Steve Radlauer), and then said, "Katz's Delicatessen- that's all!'

So that's what this fellow wrote on the sign long time ago - "That's all!" included.And it stayed this way.... the Katz's crew is coming to work. Those who do not come to work uniformed,get to the old wooden lockers in the basement where they change, putting on theirt-shirts, hats and gloves. They go upstairs and assume their positions.

And now - the first customers are in.

I plan to use about 25 to 30 short interviews in this film. It’s time to have one.They are all characters, those people who acknowledge Katz's presence in oneway or another, its character, its historical and emotional impact. All becausedecent people made and served decent food for as long as they could.

This film is not about celebrities favoring Katz's once in a while - it's about oneplace that has given its best and brought out the best in us for so many years;about the people who deliver this delicious miracle of survival with their daily hardyet morally rewarding work, about those of us who keep coming here when we gettired of having our world shown to us on the news, our foods explained, our emo-tions packaged, or maybe the other way around – in a word, when we need afoothold. Whoever we are.

How predictable is what they would all say on the subject? After all, we're talkingabout a deli - a slice of meat, a slice of bread. There are thousands of those in NewYork City.

You will see further in this presentation that the responses so far were anything butordinary.

The names are collected from the photos at Katz’s, from various personal sources,and media research and communications. The interviews will be conducted withpeople who have stories to tell about the place, and it just so happened that someof the interviewees are rather famous. Here, in a random order, and far from beingcompete:

Sidney Lumet Film directorDiane von Furstenberg Fashion designerSarah Jessica Parker ActressMatthew Broderick Actor

Bill Clinton Former PresidentRudy Giuliani Former Mayor of NYCEdward Koch Former Mayor of NYCAlan Dershowitz Author, lawyerStephen F. Kaufman A founding father of American karateBilly Crystal Actor, directorBrian Goldstein US ArmyGary Shteyngart AuthorMike Tyson BoxerMichael Imperioli ActorJames Gandolfini ActorJohnny Depp ActorJerry Stiller ActorAnne Meara ActressBen Stiller ActorAJ Pichardo US ArmyMilla Jovovic Actress, modelEve Sicular Drummer/bandleader Isle of Klezbos and

Metropolitan KlezmerEve Jochnowitz Jewish cuisine historian, authorCousin Brucie Morrow WCBS Radio DJLiev Schreiber ActorEd Harris ActorMatisyahu A Hasidic reggae singer/ performerChristy Turlington ModelBruce Davidson PhotographerMilton Glaser Artist, DesignerSpike Lee Film directorElijah Wood ActorAlan Arkin ActorJerry Lewis Actor, director, writerGen. Tommy Franks US MilitaryEric "Badlands" Booker US Champion, Competitive EatingDanny DeVito Actor, director, producerJoe Torre Coach, New York YankeesNeil Armstrong AstronautJosh Ozersky Writer, New YorkHarvey Weinstein Chairman, Miramax

Ed Burns Actor, directorPaul Buhle Historian, writerSteve Radlauer WriterLawrence Fishburn ActorElvis Costello Singer/songwriterDiana Krall Singer

Besides some of those mentioned above, naturally there will be several colorfulpatrons interviewed at Katz’s, including the FDNY and NYPD.

The action at Katz’s gets more frenetic as the lunch time nears. Wall Street types,hungry customers of all races, colors, nations are rushing in. Buses bring in more– school kids, retirees from Florida and elsewhere, big families fill up a huge,acoustically-challenged and sleep-deprivation-style lit, 200-plus-seat space.People enjoy their food and share their stories. Here’s a sample that comes froman email:

“No kidding.Having had a blood vessel in my brain spring a leak while I was on the front of oursmall sailboat trying to recover our anchor, stolen from us by the waves in a stormon the Chesapeake Bay, I forgot many important parts of my personal history, 17years worth as well as how to recognize most written words longer that three let-ters.Planning a trip to New York City a couple of years later, my wife asked me aboutplaces I'd like to go while we were there. Katz's was on my list. We made it, find-ing your restaurant every bit the experience it was in what I call 'life one'...

Keep up the good work. Thanks.Xxxxx”

When it comes to one’s personal relationships with Katz’s, stories like this areabound.“I'm almost seventy, now, and I remember 28 Clinton Street, where I was born.How many times did I walk around the corner to eat at Katz's; how many times didmy zeida, Abe Katz, the bagel maker and I sit at a table at Katz's over fifty yearsago, where he would down a "gleizela tay mitten tzigah" and I would scoff a cornedbeef or knoblewurst on club? Now I'm treated down here in Boca Raton by a gooddoctor; also a child of the lower east side, and a patron of Katz's who asks me if

my mother, Kitty [who lives on 4th & 1st Ave.] can send him a menu and a kno-blewurst from Katz's. I tell him that, although she worked for years as a waitress atthe competitor up the street [the 2nd Ave. Deli], now at eighty-eight, she's sloweda bit [and with a shipping charge of thirty dollars for the package alone], it wouldbe difficult for her. But I copied the menu off of your site, and I'll deliver that to hisoffice so he can drool and order to his heart's delight.What I wanted to say was that cruising your website brought back some strong,wonderful memories, and that after I had my healthy cry over the reminisces, Ipromised myself I'd try to make it to you this spring, when I visit my mom. So,here's to you, old friend; the taste of the wonder that was Katz's Deli hasn'tdimmed in all these years, and I wish for you and yours the nachus you're entitledto for all the joy you've brought into the world with the most delicious food this sideof Paradise. With respect, and in friendship.Xxxxx”

A Slice of History

Katz’s has been around since 1888. It was opened by Eastern European Jews onManhattan’s Lower East Side to serve the immigrant community of one of the mostoverpopulated places on Earth at that time (234,849 per square mile in 1890, over3 times more than the New York City average). Since then the owners havechanged, the neighborhood has changed, the staff that used to be almost entire-ly of Eastern European descent, now is Latin American.

What didn't change is the place's resistance to changes and dedication to servingthe same quality fare.

I've come across a black and white short student film, shot in 1968 at Katz'sDelicatessen, titled "Where's Katz?" Made in a course of a summer program runby Haig Manoogian at NYU, which shows some Katz's action of the time.

The Lower East Side area of New York has left rich visual heritage, so the archivalfootage and photographs will be used as necessary, preference given to those with

the character - Bruce Davidson, a renowned New York photographer, has beentaking magnificent photos in the area since 1950's (most recently - a pictorial onKatz's for "Esquire" magazine), and hopefully will share some of the stories thatalways surround a true photographer's work.

Send A Salami to your Boy in the Army

(as sung by Jerry Lewis in “At War With The Army” - in public domain, confirma-tion pending)

Last year a gentleman came up to the manager here and gave him a photo of hisson holding a stick of Katz’s salami while in Nortthern Iraq. I put this photo up onthe website. After about a year an email followed:

“I just returned from Iraq, and found that my photo is on your website!!

That salami took about 4 weeks to get to Iraq, but when we got it, my team and I(and some of our Kurdish security) enjoyed it more than you can imagine. We werecareful to ration it out over about 2 weeks, to make it last. It was one of the bestpackages that we ever received while we were there!

My family has been going to Katz's for many years (since sometime in the 1930's)and I am proud to be a small part of your story.

Thank you! I am looking forward to my first pastrami on rye there in the comingweeks!!!Sincerely, Brian”

Brian Goldstein speaks up. Since about twelve years ago he joined the ArmyReserve, his Mom kept saying that she'd send him Katz’s salamis someday.

Well, the day had come when Brian got word from home while in Northern Iraq,that he should expect a package: so he got the salami from home. He speaks ontape about the excitement and the bitterness of the circumstances.

AJ Pichardo, a former busboy of Katz’s and now a military computer specialist, isinterviewed from Kuwait/Bagdad using a webcam. He receives Katz’s food thererather regularly.

This part is also planned to be rich with historical and contemporary photos - theInternet being a way to communicate with a wide array of Katz's fans who submittheir stories and are ready to speak on camera.It is an exhilarating thing to watch the interaction between the employeesand the customers here. The procedure at Katz's are quite different fromany other place in New York, from their ticket system to their huge count-er, standing in front of which is somehow a part of the whole experiencefor those in the know...

The most interesting part of the project to me is in the juxtaposition of thoseepisodes / components / ingredients - location and historical shots, customers,Katz's people at work and at play, and the interviews. In the so-called real worldthey all are very much apart from each other, separated by age and money, originsand convictions, manners and the absence of such.

Katz's Deli As A Political Sandbox

The place is insanely famous even for a New York restaurant, and for a long timeto boot. Four US Presidents sampled their food, which is a traditional and quintes-sential New York deli fare. The faux-wood walls of Katz’s are decorated with theirphotos - FDR, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan (a "thank you" letter for the salamihe received at the White House), Bill Clinton all expressed their love for Katz's.NYC mayors – Edward Koch, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg come here as well.Sometimes it's a much advertised event, many times it's quiet, like NYC PoliceCommissioner Ray Kelly's visits.

When a politician wants to hit the crowd at the right moment in New York - Katz'sis definitely the place.

What's Jewish?

Crowds come to Katz's to partake in Jewish cuisine, but for some it's not Jewishenough.

Katz's is not a kosher place. At one point they were even asked to remove the out-side neon signage in Yiddish. The very presence of such a sign was construed bymany as proof that the place is observant of the Kashrut. I'd like to touch brieflyupon these matters: to interview a local rabbi, as well as someone like rabbiShmuley Boteach (a public figure), and Hasidic reggae singer Matisyahu who often

plays in the neighboring clubs. I expect to hear and see three angles on the mat-ter of what constitutes "Jewishness". No matter what will be said, I think that the Katz's Delicatessen phenom-enon performs with amazing consistency its small yet noticeable role inthe Jewish history of the world.

I'd like this section to be brief and emotional. I hope that the documentary will bepart of the answer.

The Show Must Go On

On one hand, it's hard for a famous anybody to stay anonymous at Katz's, on theother... well, the pastrami's too good.

Katz's is definitely a scene, and unfortunately it's too late to ask JerryOrbach to comment on that.

But the surprising thing is that it's those who work at Katz's are the starsof this show.

We want to go into juicy details now, the secrets of the best pastrami - is it soimportant that they carve it by hand, as the connoisseurs say? Does one have totip to get a taste (which is a generous enough slice of meat)?

A few of younger workers have a Latin R-&-B band, and they are not too shabbyeither.

Katz’s is just a job for them, or they think so, or they don't think so but don't wantto look wussy - they're tough guys.

AJ Pichardo, mentioned earlier, used to be one of them. Here's his e-mail:

hello i just wanted to commend you on the Katz's website. I am currently servingin Iraq and I used to work there....i miss the place like crazy. I actually served u onceand u will definitely not remember. you were sitting with fred talking. Keep up thegood work.

The International Fame of Katz's

Those guys with their cameras are always around.

I have written to ask if there would be any way of arranging to reserve the table fea-tured in "When Harry Met Sally" for sometime during our 2 weeks in New York.We are travelling from the United Kingdom and are getting Married at The EmpireSate Building at 2.00pm on Thursday October 28th so sometime on or around thisdate would be excellent.

I hope you will be able to help with my enquiry and make our visit to Katz's an extraspecial that we will remember for years to come.Yours Faithfully,

Hello chaps, my name is xxx xxxxx and I'm from Yorkshire in England - originally I'malso a 'Katz' my Grandfather changed his name when he came to England justbefore the war. My girlfriend is coming to NY on business next week and I'm plan-ning to surprise her by coming out myself and then popping the question at the topof the Empire State Building (marriage proposal that is). Afterwards we would liketo come to Katz deli to celebrate (assuming she says yes) and I wondered if itwould be possible to reserve the 'Meg Ryan' table and have a bottle of champagneon stand-by when we arrive. 'When Harry met Sally' is one of our favorite films andit would mean a lot to us. Currently I'm looking to do this a week tomorrow, onTuesday 3rd August to arrive at about 21:00. Would this be possible, many thanksxxx

Dear Katz's people,my name is Xxxxx and I'm a big fan of yours. Every time I come to New York, I stopby your place, meet up with friends enjoy some of your delicious food and forgetabout all the trouble for a moment and this means total recreation to me.Unfortunately I live in Germany and we don't have any delis here. That is why Idecided to open my own little deli shop, so that I can go there when ever i fell likeit. Of course it won't be the same because your place is unique but I would bedelighted if there is a posibility to ship bigger quantities of some of your delicaciesto Germany just to capture a little bit of the Katz's atmosphere and bring some ofyour food to my humble little deli. Please let me know if there is a chance to make

this come true. I will be looking forward hearing from you. Kindly, Xxxxx

The Climax, The Point, The Message

So there is a really small, tiny place in so many people’s hearts that is firmly takenby Katz’s and all that comes with it - memories, families, the feeling of home.Almost uncomfortably, this place is bursting with strong emotions, not unlike thosetiny rooms on the Lower East Side, circa 1888.

Carefully we will collect these tiny pieces of love, as many as we can, using allmeans at our disposal, from private photo archives and home movies to webcasts,into one tapestry and put it up for all to see and admire. Dealing with the Katz'scrowd and related issues is quite an adventure.

There will be some choice words in those interviews that I plan to get on tape:some simple actions shown, that when done daily and with enough care (withoutgoing crazy over it!), produce the results seen for the last 117 years.

Katz’s is a foot soldier in the parlance of our times. In the city that has to reinventitself every second of its existence, to move ahead or die, here is a place thatseems not to go anywhere, a fortress wide open to anyone, this noisy spot of tran-quillity that's in fact carried into the future by the hearts of those who love it. Andif what used to be good for those who had built pretty much everything we enjoy(and take for granted) today is putting too much stress on our hearts – by allmeans, we ought to get us stronger hearts while we can.

Having forcefully drawn myself away from a Katz's-induced verbal flow, having myvery few options exhausted to tie it up with some current scandal to ensure so theoriginality and mass appeal of this documentary (the rise of antisemitism in theworld? Mad cow decease? - last time they announced the outbreak of it in the US,Katz's got packed like beef was going out of style... what else is new?), I come tothe conclusion that the proposed documentary would perfectly fit into the greatAmerican tradition of a quest for the "salt of the earth" things in everyday life, reaf-firming and celebrating the diversity and richness of life - in a clever and heartfeltway.

For us and for generations to come.

On a Personal Note

I came to the US about 8 years ago mostly with the baggage more or lessdescribed in the attached filmography.

Made my first money here by acting opposite Denzel Washington in “Fallen” (we’reall highly spiritual individuals here, so this is just a narrative bridge, let’s walk overit) and said to myself that my last money too ought to be made in the same line ofwork – in film. My “extra” talent also graced the celluloid in “Jesus’ Son”. I wrotea spec script for “Seinfeld” that was noticed by NBC’s Story Department (Mr. BrianHardwick).

My immediate needs and my education (a BA in Architecture) drove me to thegraphic design/ internet line of work, where I have achieved measurable results. In2003 my projects were featured in the New York Times and the New York maga-zine. I was also of help in resolving a small aspect of SFX/design in “The Guys”,produced by Open City Films.

Recently I produced a good-looking low-budget commercial to run on NY1.

I think I age rather well, learned my lessons, and am at the peak of my creative form.

A relevant note: I wrote, produced, directed four documentaries – the ethnic Jewsof Central Asia, the history of American jazz in Central Asia, two other documen-taries commissioned by the UN Higher Commissioner for Refugees on the opera-tions that followed the civil war in Tadjikistan and Afghanistan. In retrospect, theyall turned to be about survival: so I’m pretty consistent.

At various times I worked as a scriptwriter with such presently notable Russian filmdirectors as Timur Bekmambetov (“Night Watch”, a recent Russian internationalblockbuster), Bakhiyar Khudojnazarov, and Djanik Faiziev ( “Turkish Gambit”, themost recent Russian blockbuster), who’s also the head of the creative departmentof Russian Public TV (ORT).

Yura Dashevsky

contact info:8747 26 Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11214tel (718) 449 5654 mobil (917)207 8273e-mail: info@dashevsky.comwww.dashevsky.com

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. At various times worked as a scriptwriter with such presently notable Russian filmdirectors as Timur Bekmambetov (“Night Watch”, the latest Russian international blockbuster), BakhiyarKhudojnazarov, and Djanik Faiziev, the head of the creative department of Russian Public TV (ORT). Member ofthe Union of the Filmmakers of the N I S. In 1993 established DA!Productions, an independent film/video pro-ducing firm that joined leading professionals of Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan on socially significant programs formajor international clients. Emigrated to the U.S. on June 28, 1996.

KYA-DYA (A Dog Soup/ Korean)feature,VGIKstudio, 25min. 3 reels, b/w, 1988 Screenplay by Yuri Dashevsky Directed by D.Faiziyev

1988 Kiev International Film Festival,USSR Trophy of Courage 1989 Oberhausen,Germany, Int’l Short Film Fest Main Prize 1989 Krakow Int’l Short Film Fest, Poland The Bronze Dragon 1990 Tel Aviv Int’l Student Film Fest, Israel Honorary mention of the Jury 1992 Moscow, VGIK Festival, Russia Grand Prix

1989-92 “Cinema and the Perestroika” Showcase screenings at Louvre, Georges Pompidou Art Center·Clermont-Ferrand , La Rochelle IFF(France) Rotterdam IFF(Holland), London IFF(UK)

SIZ KIM SIZ? (Who Do You Think You Are?/ Uzbek) feature, 85 min, 9 reels,color, 1989 Screenplay by Yuri Dashevsky Directed by D.Faiziyev

1989 Kiev International Film Festival Best Feature film Award 1990 Moscow “Debut” Film Fest Best Feature film Award

1989-92 “Cinema and the Perestroika” Showcase screenings at Louvre, Georges Pompidou Art Center, Clermont-Ferrand, La Rochelle IFF (France),SWF TV(Germany), MOMA (New York), Tel Aviv Int’l Student Film Fest (Israel), Belaria IFF (Italy)

CAMMIE feature, 87 min, 9 reels, INSON film studio, 1991 Screenplay by Yuri Dashevsky Directed by D.Faiziyev 1992 Participation at the ‘Kinotaur’ IF Fest (Sochi,

Russia), Jewish IFF (Moscow, Russia), Taormina IFF(Sicily, Italy)

1992 Nantes IFF (France) Best music, Best Actress Awards

I GO TO SEEKanimation, 18 min, 2 reels, color, 1991, Uzbekfilm Screenplay by Yuri Dashevsky, directed by Vladislav Fesenko Acquired by “PILOT” animation film studio,Moscow,Russia

1992 Selected by Hiroshima Int’l Animation Film Fest(Japan) Selected by Stuttgart Int’l Animation Film Fest (Germany)

THE GIRL WITH MATCHES animation, 9 min, 1 reel, color, 1992 Uzbekfilm Based on H.C.Andersen Christmas taleScreenplay by Yuri Dashevsky, directed by Vladimir Nikitin

* IF I’LL FORGET YOU, JERUSALEM1993/94 Ethnic (Bukharian) Jews of Uzbekistan

video doc, 32 min, BetaSP, DA!Productions

** 4 STORIES about Uzbekistan 1993 video doc, 20 min, BetaSP, DA!Productions

For Televisa-ECO, Mexico

* TADJIKISTAN: A HOME LOST AND FOUND 1994 Refugees - post -civil war repatriation

video doc, 26 min,S-VHS, DA!Productions Commissioned by UNHCR Central Asia

* TADJIKISTAN: BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE 1994 Refugees - post- civil war reintegration.

video doc,16 min, BetaSP, DA!ProductionsCommissioned by UNHCR Central Asia

**UZBEKISTAN ARTS AND MONUMENTS1995 video doc, 20 min,BetaSP, DA!Productions

For the Deutsche Welle, Berlin, Germany

* LIFE SWINGS! 1996 A brief history of American jazz culture

in Uzbekistan video doc, 53 min, BetaSP, DA!Productions Supported by the United States Information Service (USIS)

* Written, directed and produced by Yuri Dashevsky** Production services

painting by Irina Zavyalova, 54”X46” oil, canvas 2004