The Waltz on the Petschora (Valsi Pechoraze) 32 years old

A film like a lament, without emphasis, painful and moving, a signal from the East that has not yet submitted to the political and aesthetic will of the West

Set in 1937 Stalinist Georgia, the film traces the parallel destinies of a mother, condemned by the government as "an enemy of the people" and exiled to a work camp in Siberia, and her daughter, who meanwhile is sent to an orphanage. Arriving at the overcrowded work camp, the mother and other women who are not considered strong enough to be labourers, must journey still farther, crossing the icy Siberian landscape in search of food and shelter. At the same time, the daughter escapes the orphanage and returns to her former home, where she finds that a KGB officer has taken up residence. He protects her and an uneasy rapport between them develops—one of abhorrence and attraction, need and suspicion.

Credits

The Waltz on the Petschora Cast

Name	Character
Valentina Telichkina She was 47, now 79 years old
Irina Kupchenko She was 43, now 76 years old

The Waltz on the Petschora Crew

Name	Department