German Rychkov

In the freezing cold of occupied Leningrad, a group of children is sent to a so-called “children’s shelter” — a place where hunger, brutal punishment, and forced labor await, and where they are even used as blood donors for wounded German soldiers. Fear, despair, and the constant threat of death haunt their every moment. Yet, amidst the cruelty, they find strength and begin secretly planning their escape. Every small act of defiance becomes a spark of hope. In the face of unimaginable terror, they fight to survive and cling to the fragile possibility of freedom.

For his thesis, Valentin, a student at the St. Petersburg Institute of Cinematography, has to shoot a documentary about Lake Baikal. His friends remind him of Stepan, a former classmate from Ulan-Ude, so he decides to ask him for help. In Ulan-Ude, the group ends up in all sorts of comical situations.