Birobidzhan

There can be little doubt that this area ranks as one of humanity's most unusual, exotic and misguided social experiments. In 1934 the Soviet leader declared the area the Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR) of Birobidjan and persuaded tens of thousands of poor Jews to move there as farmers. Thousands of Jews were drawn to this land.

This documentary will offer a glimpse into an unknown area of Siberia and will reveal one of the most intriguing chapters in 20th century Jewish and Russian histories. Fascinating past and present stories will be told of the people who settled in this far eastern edge as one of Stalin's unlikeliest projects.

Says Sharon Dirlam, author of "Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place": "I enthusiastically support Marianna Yarovskaya in the making of a documentary about Birobidzhan and the Jewish Autonomous Region of Russia. The Jewish Autonomous Region has had a fascinating and sometimes tragic history, as oppressed Russian and Ukranian Jews under Stalin's rule tried to carve out a new life in an isolated wilderness. The struggles they endured and the successes of their modern-day descendants will make for a film that is both heartbreaking and inspiring."