This is Our Home
Through the eyes and lives of the Artyukhov family, This is Our Home chronicles the story of how the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church came to be established in 1949. Premiering in Ontario for the first time in Russian, This Is Our Home presents an authentic re-telling of the courageous voyage that this family and many others have endured.
“With the recent growth of the Russian Canadian demographic, this documentary comes at a poignant time to introspectively share a history for new generations of Canadians that would otherwise be lost,” said Madeline Ziniak, National Vice President, OMNI Television. “The Artyukhov family offers a unique and personal glimpse into their journey for a better life in Canada and explores how the establishment of the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church was the nexus for community growth and stability.”
This Is Our Home provides rich, historical commentary on the contemporary and future relationship between community and church for Russian Canadians both young and old. The Artyukhovs – a father, mother and their six children – came to Canada as a family, an extremely rare circumstance for the time. Sisters Alexandra Furlany and Maria Slinko tell their tales, recounting how they settled into Canadian life.
This is Our Home is written, directed and produced by Alexander Gershtein. In addition to his work on Sluzhenie (Service), Gerstein’s experience includes: director of news, sport and political broadcasting for Kyrgyzstan State Television and director and writer for the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, Channel 1, where he created 10 documentaries. Gershtein is a founding member of Chemodan Films, where one of his films won “best directing” at the second Issyk-Kul International Film Festival of the Shanghai Organization of Cooperation in Kyrgyzstan. He has also worked as a Canadian reporter for the RTVI, the New York-based International TV Channel for the Russian-speaking audience. He is a member of CEMA, the Canadian Ethnic Media Association.
