This film was inspired by our friend, Irina Rabinovich. The context is that in the Soviet Union, most theater actors received very low salaries. As a result, children’s New Year’s parties were often their primary, if not only, source of income for the entire following year. These included performances in kindergartens and personal greetings, where Ded Moroz (a figure similar to Santa Claus) and Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden) visited people’s homes.
On this occasion, Irina suggested that I film their shows at the Police Palace in Kharkiv. They were performing three shows every day throughout the entire school winter break. Initially, I had no script or even a plan. I simply filmed the preparations and the performances themselves. It was only toward the end of the shoot that I came up with a storyline, and just before the holidays ended, we filmed the missing scenes according to that script.
The film has had almost no festival run. Nevertheless, it was awarded an honorary diploma at the “Sirene” (Lilac) Festival in Kharkiv and was also selected for the major Byron Bay Film Festival in Australia.
🏆 Award Ceremony: Closing Event of the Festival