Elena Beloff, a graduate of the New School University where she had studied film production, wanted to make movies since she was a little girl in her hometown in Tatarstan, Russia.  When she was in high school she came to the USA as an exchange student and returned later to pursue her dreams.  "Filmmaking is my passion. I chose it because I can communicate my vision, beliefs and love for art through film."  While composing her student version of Zaritsas, she worked as an extra on the set of Law&Order where she met the famous actor Vincent D'Onofrio who also starred in Men in Black and produced The Whole Wide World - and he became interested in her work. "He saw a trailer and believed in my film," Elena recalls.  "His production company sponsored it.  It took me two years to make it."

The idea for the film came to Elena as she learned about the infamous phenomena of the Russian women stereotype as materialistic gold-diggers and mail-order brides.   "When I first came to the US, I began hearing stories about Russian mail-order brides and how easy it was to get a Russian wife if you wanted one,"  Elena recalls She says she often heard about Michael Gross's article "From Russia with Sex," which depicted Russian women as cold hearted gold-diggers.  She also came to know about the strippers' phenomenon. "So many Russian girls were doing it that it seemed like a norm."  And so she decided to make a film to explore the alleged stereotypes, naming it Zaritsas, (The Queens) based on a Russian song about women locked in a cage of societal judgment much like the medieval Queens were trapped in their castles.

To create her documentary, Elena followed five Russian expatriates: a model Tatiana Lissovskaia from Kiev, a showgirl Sasha Ignatenko from Vladivostok, and a three ex-Moscovites: a Sheepsheadbay Church rapper Elena Ouri, a La Perla Boutique salesperson Katya Chirkina, and a Scores Strip Club dancer Irina Isaeva.

In her film Elena reflects on the old depiction of Soviet females of 1940-1950s as drab, man-like creatures, rebuilding their country after the war.  When the Soviet Union fell, its citizens went through tough economic times while images of Western luxury flooded the country, creating a new cliché: beautiful feminine Natashas who were after the rich and powerful and would do anything for money.

As Elena's film unwraps it not only dismantles the stereotype, but communicates the women's life stories and their aspirations.  Sasha came here as an exchange student for a few months and fell in love with New York, deciding to stay for good. Katya's dream is to quit her prestigious job at La Perla and become a photographer.  The rapper Elena Ouri speaks about her creative work, her songs and music, and how they reflect her religious believes and her vision of God.  Tatiana shares her life experiences: her husband had been killed, she had been once raped in a night club, and then rebuilt herself through praying.  But perhaps, the most impressive story is Irina's who completely reinvents herself by the end of the documentary.  She joins a church, takes refuge at a spiritual retreat to rebuild herself from her exotic dancer's experience and makes a leap into a new life by finding a job in the New York Jewelry district - with the emotional support of all the other women in the film.

Elena is excited about "Zaritsas" being part of The First Astoria/LIC International Film Festival.  Her aspirations are to make more films, documentary and feature.  She is also a trained hypnotist who works at Advanced Hypnosis Center on Park Ave.  Right now she is working on a new documentary film about hypnosis.