'Sturgeon Queens' To Screen On PBS And In Festivals

New documentary details life of appetizing store Russ & Daughters.

Lauren Rothman, Special To The Jewish Week

“Sturgeon Queens,” a new documentary set to screen at festivals and to air on PBS stations in the New York area, traces the vibrant life of Russ & Daughters, the iconic cured-fish palace that opened on New York’s Lower East Side in 1914. This year, the still-thriving store celebrates its 100th anniversary, and its owners, fourth-generation Russes, plan to open a 65-seat café nearby. It’s a big year for a celebrated Jewish business that has weathered many changes in the neighborhood’s cultural landscape.

Seasoned filmmaker Julie Cohen had been planning a full-length feature on the store for years. She knew that if she wanted to make it happen, 2014 would be the time.

“It really had to be this year,” she said.

Cohen, who runs the documentary production company Better Than Fiction, came across the idea for a Russ & Daughters movie back in 2008, when PBS commissioned her to produce “The Jews of New York,” an hour-long program that wove together six stories of Jewish life in the city. The tale of the appetizing store was just one of those stories, but it really resonated with Cohen, who, like many secular Jews, said that her strongest connection to her heritage is through its foods.

“Like every good Jewish girl, I love lox and pickled herring,” she said.

Continue reading here and watch the trailer below.