Call Me Anytime, I’m Not Leaving the House

Two Ukrainian sisters – one recently emigrated to Brooklyn, the other in war-besieged Odessa – long to be reunited and reminisce about their homeland.

This guide is an invitation to dialogue. It is based on a belief in the power of connection and designed for people who want to use Call Me Anytime, I’m Not Leaving the House to engage family, friends, classmates, colleagues, and communities. In contrast to initiatives that foster debates in which participants try to convince others that they are right, this document envisions conversations undertaken in a spirit of openness in which people try to understand one another and expand their thinking by sharing experiences and viewpoints and actively listening to one another in a care-forward environment.

About the Author, Kcenia Kloesel

Kcenia Kloesel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Sewanee, the University of the South, in 2021 with honors in both her history and Russian majors. Kloesel, a native Russian speaker, translated Call Me Anytime, I’m Not Leaving the House alongside her mother in an effort to provide support to the Ukrainian mission. Both wanted to ensure that the film’s impact was preserved in its English translation.

During school and since graduation, Kloesel’s primary passion for research has developed around post-Soviet political history and examination of the conditions that allowed Putin’s meteoric rise to power. She has developed a keen interest in the Second Chechen War, media manipulation within the Russian Federation, and the relationship between Boris Yeltsin and the Clinton administration. Kloesel has helped translate a variety of Russian poems and enjoys reading Russian literature in her spare time. She is adamant about protecting her Russian heritage and homeland from the authoritarian influences that dominate it today

Discussion Guide Producers
Courtney B. Cook, Phd | Education Manager, POV
Jordan Thomas | Education Assistant, POV

Thanks to those who reviewed and contributed to this resource:
Natalie Danford, Copyeditor