Director / Writer Dana Ziyasheva Talks About 'Defenders of Life'
Director Dana Ziyasheva made her directorial debut, 'Defenders of Life' which focuses on the Ngäbe community, and the hardships Ngäbe girls faced in Costa Rica.

They say the personal is political, and it’s hard to find a story that represents that saying more than the story of Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Jewish teenager, who found himself in the middle of a historical event on a Biblical scale - Kristallnacht - the event that would kick off the Holocaust. The Germans, by the way, claim that our little Hershel started World War II itself. This documentary presents the full story of this mysterious assassin for the first time, and rolls up one of the thrilling and often forgotten stories that form the greater story of the Holocaust, experienced by European Jews.
Director Dana Ziyasheva made her directorial debut, 'Defenders of Life' which focuses on the Ngäbe community, and the hardships Ngäbe girls faced in Costa Rica.
The movie is centered around the title character who goes on a Christmas adventure.
Portraying how easy it is to be an ally heavily benefits the majority audience. The more we encourage it, normalize it, and give people the tools to become one, the sooner we can co-exist peacefully.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Premature is a story about the pain of love and realities. Transitioning from youth to our perspective of adulthood, how do we grapple with loss?
Everyone needs a BFF and a "wing person" like Yumi (Chloris Li). Li brings the "straight person" persona, literally and figuratively balancing James Aaron Oh's perfectly timed comedic delivery as the unlucky-in-love.