Pola was born on the other side of the world, in a society that no longer exists—Soviet Russia. Her father was a film director, and her mother was a costume designer. She grew up on the set, surrounded by inspiring and eccentric people, actors, artists, and writers. The written word fascinated her. She could recite poetry for hours and read through the night; however, her formal education ended up in design for film and theater.
Her father passed away unexpectedly, and several months later, she and her mother received a phone call from the authorities. They were told that their immigration papers (the ones they never filed) had been issued and that they must leave the country in one month.
With a hundred dollars in her pocket and a suitcase, she found herself in America, not a different country, but a different planet.
She finished her education at CalArts and received a Master’s degree. From there on, her life took place in Hollywood, on a film set, back where her journey had begun. The filmmaking dynamic is international, and the people the process attracts are similar in nature. She was home once again.
Literary writing is her art form, her passion, and her challenge. “The Other Side of the Moon,” her latest endeavor, is a semi-autobiographical novel. The characters are fictional, but the historical facts are accurate: the process of immigration, her mother’s story of growing up in a labor camp, surviving three years of starvation in the Siege of Leningrad during World War 2, and her cousin’s battle with Russian oppression and Ukrainian War.
She carries a mark of generational struggle and resilience and is grateful. Her life is vibrant, her past is rich, and she embraces her future, no matter what it may bring.
Comments