S1.E10 ∙ Mastering the Table

Hindus celebrate 'Mrityubhoj', or the Death Feast, on the 13th day after a cremation as a remembrance for the departed soul, and also as a ritual to help the soul find heavenly abode. However, today this practice has become akin to a status symbol and a reflection of a family's social standing. This film takes a fly on the wall approach, following a family in the Chambal district in India, as they get ready to organize a death feast following the demise of their father. Caught between tradition, societal pressure, and prestige on the one hand and on the other hand, activists trying to put a lid on the pernicious practice of Mrityubhoj, especially for the poor, it tries to capture their predicament of being caught between a rock and a hard place.

Zhenya is the head of the weather station, Vanya is a junior meteorologist and household assistant. The ship "Mikhail Somov" comes to the Kanin Peninsula once a year, delivers food - and then the heroes are left alone until next spring. One day a storm comes to them - and the heroes are left without communication, alone, alone with bad weather and each other for 3 long days.

"A song for you" tells a story of defiance, courage, creativity and love. Processing her family history, filmmaker Sharon Karp weaves interviews with her mother, fragments of a book her father wrote, photographs, documents and historical footage. In 1943 the Karp family escaped the Nazis by crossing the Pyrenees on foot with the help of the French Resistance. Now the filmmaker and her sisters retrace the escape route, trying to separate history from present day reality. The impact of the Holocaust on the daughters is revealed. The film provides an uplifting message while raising questions of responsibility in our choices. 'A Song for You' underscores the bravery of the righteous ones who risked their own lives to save the family.