Synopsis
What began as one woman’s journey to explore and document her familial roots transformed into something more. It became an intimate look at a typical American, Jewish family. Beginning on Thanksgiving Day 2008 and spanning 13 years, this love letter to her family offers a “slice-of-life” glimpse at their humorous and heartwarming connection, while reminding us that we all have more in common than we think. We all tell stories around the dinner table.
You’re invited… as there’s always room for one more at this family’s table.
Director's Statement
Our mission is to explore the importance of family. Families set the stage for future relationships. Families teach values and life lessons. During challenging times, people need a family they can rely on. As the matriarch to the Gordon-Levinson family, Monica’s mother Francine often says, “family is everything.”
Lately, it seems like the whole world is falling apart. Division and hatred are spreading like wildfire and Anti-Semitism is once again on the rise. In a dark world, we must look for glimmers of hope wherever we can find them. In creating THE STORIES OF US, we sought to not only spread some positivity but hopefully find common ground, beginning with one family.
Monica and Steven have been friends for almost 20 years. After these rather depressing last few years, they really wanted to lean into something more positive. Monica enlisted Steven’s help to document her family. What started as a simple family history, grew into something larger. As they looked through the footage spanning 13 years, they realized it had become not only a love letter to Monica’s family, yet something that shows the world that a typical American Jewish family is, well… just like everyone else.
Being over 50 and well-established as a feature producer, Monica never dreamed she’d step into the co-director’s chair. She is grateful for the change in tide that encourages women of any age to find their voice. The collaboration between Monica and Steven embodies their shared passion for storytelling. With this film, the directors hope to highlight the true importance of family, for any culture, in a humorous and heartfelt way. We hope you enjoy it.