IVAN & IVANA

After surviving 78 days of NATO bombings and attacks of ethnic hatred and rebuttals for the Milošević government’s cruel treatment of Albanian citizens, Ivan and Ivana escaped Kosovo for America to restart and rebuild their lives from scratch. But they could have never imagined that their quest for freedom, peace and prosperity would be fraught with such complexity, pain, and heartbreak. Ivan and Ivana’s rapid success and prosperity exemplifies the possibility and promise of that lures so many immigrants to come to the United States, but beyond the facade of beautiful homes and cars reveals a more complex vision of an immigrant experience. The film explores the attraction as well as the ambivalence to the glitz and glamour associated with Hollywood’s depiction of the USA by juxtaposing the hardships, successes and the humorous escapades of this young immigrant couple.