In the late 1980s, with the onset of perestroika, the end of the Cold War, for the first time in over 70 years Soviet Jews were allowed to leave. Stateless shares the accounts of the Soviet Jews who were finally able to escape the oppressive Soviet Union on the brink of its collapse. There was, however, one obstacle the immigrants were unprepared for: the United States would no longer welcome them with open arms as it had welcomed their predecessors. In 1988, American policies had suddenly changed, leaving thousands of Soviet Jews stranded in Italy: Stateless. This vivid documentary captures a unique slice of history from the perspectives of the emigres as well as expert accounts from the influential Jewish leaders involved in the immigration process.
—Anonymous