Nastasya Popov
GRANT WINNER • ARTS & PERFORMANCE
Telling the Stories Between Two Worlds
Brighton Beach Short Film
Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, New York, a community known for its large Russian-speaking immigrant population, provides the backdrop for filmmaker Nastasya Popov's newest project. The daughter of Russian immigrants herself, Nastasya sees Brighton Beach as a place where culture, identity, and family struggles intersect, offering powerful material for storytelling.
A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in radio, TV, film, and screenwriting, Nastasya is no stranger to the craft. She has already written and directed four films, two documentaries and two narrative shorts, and previously received a competitive Northwestern grant for her documentary Healing Chicago .
With support from the Hunter Watson Memorial Grant, she will begin production on a short film about a Russian brother and sister navigating cross-generational pressures under difficult circumstances. Drawing in part on her own experiences, Nastasya hopes the film will highlight the resilience and complexity of immigrant families. Her passion and sensitivity as a filmmaker reflect the mission of the Hunter Watson Memorial Fund.
What your support made possible:
Film-production expenses for a short film rooted in the Brighton Beach immigrant experience.
Because of you... Nastasya can keep creating, learning, and bringing Brighton Beach Short Film closer to the people it was made to reach.