The Documentary Sales Company 
Deckert Distribution presents:
Gora

Gora
Gora

Director:
Alexandr Rastorguyev

Studio Vertov 

Russia 2001
Beta SP / DigiBeta
26 / 55 min

The heroine of the documentary is Gora (mountain), a weak woman, no longer in the first flush of youth, who works as a yard-keeper in a sleepy district of the city Rostov-on-Done. She has neither a residents permit nor medical insurance. Gora lives in a barrack with her girl-friend. It costs her 500 roubles (16$) which means she can save a little money. The barrack is a densely populated two-storey building, which has stood the test of time. People have lived there for 40 years, have bred geese and goats, made home-brew, drunk, loved and died. 

One hundred meters from the barrack is a convent of 15 nuns of all ages. The convent building is identical to the barrack in structure, the only difference is that it has been whitewashed and is now surrounded by a neat brick wall. It is said that the mother superior of the convent is a former prison matron.
It appears that Gora is expecting a baby from the son of her girl-friend. The same son Gora watched grow up. The friends blame each other for the pregnancy and every time the boy sees Gora, he threatens to kill her. Gora rents a tiny living space from a lively alcoholic, whose 18-year old daughter, Julia, is also expecting a baby. The father of her future baby comes from a normal family and his parents will not entertain the notion of their son marrying or becoming a father. 
Julia, who is lazy and constantly sleepy, unsuccessfully attempts to find a job. In the absence of work, she helps Gora and studies the relationships in her own house and in the house of her young man's parents. The barrack, the nunnery, rows, dirt, tipsy fights. Julia's story is a prototype of Gora's story. In fact this is a humorous and tragic story of Russia.

Original Language: Russian 
English Subtitles

Awards
Special Prize at the Film Festival Sverdlovsk 2001
Special Prize at the Open Documentary Festival "Russia" Ekaterinbourg