Book cover titled LESYK, A.K.A. Words of Wisdom, directed and edited by Orr 'Carpenter' Bortman, featuring a person with long hair wearing a black cowboy hat and striped shirt, sitting in a garden with flowers and greenery.

LESYK a.k.a. Words of Wisdom

A moving portrait of Alexander Lesyk Balaban, an eccentric Ukraine stamp collector living in Astoria, NY for over fifty years. Told across four seasons and spanning over 1,000 years of history, come spend some time with Lesyk, whose extensive stamp collection is part of the fight for the survival of Ukraine's identity and history.

August 22, 2024
7-8 PM

LaGuardia Performing Arts Center
Little Theater
Van Dam Street and 47th Avenue

Orr Bortman

A man with dark hair wearing a white backward baseball cap, a white t-shirt, and black Sony headphones around his neck, sitting in front of a window with horizontal blinds, looking to the side with a slight smile.

Orr Bortman is a NYC based director and producer of documentaries and narrative films.

An older man with gray hair and a beard, wearing a red sweatshirt and light-colored jeans, sitting by a window in an unfinished room and looking at his phone.
A vintage photo of a group of seven people dressed in traditional Eastern European folk costumes, posing outdoors in front of a painted backdrop showing trees and a clock. The group includes five men, one woman, and one girl, all wearing embroidered shirts, with some men wearing tall fur hats, and the woman in a headscarf. The scene appears to be part of a cultural or festive event.
Collection of vintage postage stamps from Ukraine and Russia, arranged in rows and sections, with some stamps labeled with handwritten notes and marked with black overprints.
An older man with a long gray beard, wearing sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and a beige embroidered shirt, sitting outdoors in a garden, holding a can of beer. The background features lush green plants and garden tools.
An elderly man with a long gray beard and hair, wearing a blue and yellow Ukraine hat, is looking downward inside a wooden structure.
A vintage family photo of five people, including two adults and three children, gathered in a living room during Christmas. The Christmas tree is decorated with ornaments and tinsel, with a piano and framed pictures in the background.
Man with long gray hair and a bushy mustache and beard, wearing a traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirt, standing against a white background.