From Alabama’s quiet porches to Alaska’s roaring oceans, the upcoming documentary captures what freedom, work, and hope truly mean in modern America.
(Birmingham, Alabama / March 2025) — If America has a pulse, it beats somewhere on the road. On the highways that slice through the South. On the frozen docks of Alaska where fishermen greet dawn by touch, not by color. On the dusty streets of small Midwestern towns where craftsmen measure time not by the clock, but by the work of their hands.
For the past year, Ukrainian filmmaker Vladimir Dorogobid, founder of Metaphora Vision, has been searching for this pulse — not in the headlines or tourist brochures, but in the quiet, unpolished corners of everyday life. His new documentary series, “Life in USA,” is becoming a tapestry of human stories stitched together by chance meetings, open doors, and miles of American road.
“I quickly understood that America isn’t a country — it’s a universe,” Dorogobid says.
“You can drive 200 miles, and the world around you changes completely. People change. Their humor, their struggles, their dreams. And yet, their humanity — that stays the same.”
A Journey Through the Real America
Dorogobid’s path has taken him far from the polished image of America seen abroad.
He films:
- Fishermen in Alaska, who rise long before the sun and speak about the sea as if it were a family member.
- Farmers in Alabama, whose land holds generations of memory, loss, and quiet pride.
- Mechanics and artisans in the Midwest, who create with their hands and carry wisdom in their silence.
- Immigrants in New York and Chicago, rebuilding their lives with the familiar mix of hope and fear.
Not once does the series ask America to pose.
It simply observes — patiently, intimately, with a filmmaker’s affection and a traveler’s humility.
“Every person carries a story worth hearing,” Dorogobid says.
“These aren’t celebrities or influencers. These are the voices that keep America moving forward.”
A Cinema of Honesty and Wonder
“Life in USA” marries two worlds rarely combined: the raw truth of documentary filmmaking and the lyrical softness of visual poetry.
Light, silence, gesture — everything becomes part of the narrative. The camera lingers not only on faces, but on landscapes, on hands, on moments that most people pass by without noticing.
It feels less like a film crew traveling across America and more like a modern diary of a man trying to understand a vast, complicated, beautiful country from the inside.
And as a Ukrainian filmmaker, Dorogobid carries another layer of meaning.
“When you come from another culture, you see things differently,” he explains.
“You notice what locals sometimes stop seeing. The dignity of labor. The warmth in strangers. The bravery of ordinary life.”
Toward the Festival Stage
The film now enters its final phase — post-production. And the road that began in the wilderness of Alaska will soon lead to the festival stage. “Life in USA” is being prepared for presentation at two major American documentary events:
- Anchorage International Film Festival, celebrated for its focus on truth, landscape, and independent voices.
- Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, one of the country’s most respected platforms for filmmakers who explore human stories with honesty and depth.
Both festivals feel symbolically aligned with the spirit of the film: vast skies, real people, unfiltered storytelling.
Following its festival tour, Life in USA will be released on major streaming platforms in late 2025, opening its road — and its heart — to audiences around the world.
About Metaphora Vision
Metaphora Vision, founded by filmmaker Vladimir Dorogobid, creates cinematic, emotionally resonant stories that explore the human experience across cultures and continents.
Follow the journey: instagram.com/vladd_nyc
