Episode 6 - Where I am From

When people asked “Where are you from?” Danielle was never sure if they wanted to know the places she’d lived or whether they just thought she looked foreign. She didn’t know many families like hers in mainstream Jewish America. These days, there’s growing awareness about the diversity of the Jewish experience.

Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet Dardashti

The Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.com

Presented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces Media

Host - Danielle Dardashti

Writer / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle Dardashti

Producer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet Dardashti

Audio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary Goldberg

Story Editor - Rider Alsop

Story Consultant - Asal Ehsanipour

Composer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)

In Episode 6, Where I am From, you heard our conversations with: Farid Dardashti, Michelle Dardashti, Roni Sarig, Raquel Sarig, Evan Mateen, Tarlan Rabizadeh, and Lior Sternfeld.

Thank you to our sponsors:

-Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund

-Common Era

-Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation

-The Himan Brown Charitable Trust

-Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

-UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music

-Be’chol Lashon (fiscal sponsor)

Dedication: This is for you Dadders!!! We love you (and Mommy) so much!!!! xox

We are so grateful for: our extraordinary husbands, Roni Sarig and Mason Weisz, who have contributed in countless ways big and small; Danielle’s amazing kids, Uri Dardashti Sarig and Raquel Dardashti Sarig, who lent their talents in story editing, sound capture, episode cover art design, and more; and Galeet’s kids -Yaniv and Adin–for being such incredible humans.

There are so many people we want to thank for their love, guidance, support, and inspiration on this project: Houri & Younes Dardashti, Millie & Louie Heifetz, Yadid Dardashti, Shahnaze Dardashti, Hamid Dardashti, Louise Motevassel, David Dardashti, Oren Motevassel, Niloo Dardashti, Schelly Dardashti, Jina Aziz-Zadeh, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, Dawne Bear Novicoff, Vicki Compter Lefkowitz, Jeni Friedman, Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Guber, Debbie Kolben, Ami Eden, Caleb Guedes Reed, Sharon Nazarian, Jessamyn Rodriguez, Yonah Schiller, Richard Kay, Mark Kligman, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Arielle Nissenblatt, Ilana Nevins, Lauren Passell, Habib Partow, Alan Niku, Ruth Abusch-Magder, Julian Voloj, Melina Rosenberg, Houman Sarshar, Edwin Seroussi, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Mohsen Mohammadi, Manucher Bibiyan, Haideh Herbert, Homa Sarshar, Shahla Javdan, Lili Keypour, Nahid Pirnazar, Hasan Sarbakhshian, Sierra Ulrich, David Shofet, Sarah Benor and Hadas Bram.

Intro credits read by: Michelle Dardashti

Cover art design: Ghulam Nabi

Assistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeese

Marketing / PR: Tink

Distributed by PRX, the Public Media Exchange