Lert studied direction and acting simultaneously, the former at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California, and the latter at the International Actors' School in Los Angeles founded by Alexander Kuznetsov.

Lert began his career in Hollywood as an assistant producer, while also working as an actor in several films.

[6] The film is based on Sholem Aleichem's Tevye's Daughters (adapted into the musical The Fiddler on the Roof).

Lert shot the film partially at the Pyrohiv Outdoor Museum in Ukraine to recreate early Ukrainian country life and folklore.

[7] In 2018, "Tevye's Daughters" was nominated for a Golden Globe in the foreign language film category.