Cultural Root

The story of Alina Chistyakova, founder of a brand of pearl crowns and necklaces crafted using the ancient technique of pearl planting. Alina travels to the village where she spent her childhood to show off her pearl necklaces to her fellow villagers—tractor drivers resting after work, women gathered at a food truck. After all, their great-grandmothers made such necklaces, and not long ago, their grandmothers wore them when they got married… Will the sight of beauty awaken the people's memory? And what will this village comedy of two worlds colliding lead to?

Their art and way of life are a mirage of elusive beauty. Here, the legendary past shares a roof with the everyday present. On the verandas of old dachas, samovars still emit their smoke, while through the mist rising from the ravines, it seems as if eyes from the past are peering into our world. And we will follow that gaze—into the workshop of toy-making master Viktor Nazariti, into the village house of artist Maria Dreznina, into the old home of Yuri Macheret and Marina Faidysh, once bought from the Polenovs, into the garden of Irina Starzhenetskaya and Anatoliy Komelin. The artistic dynasties of the Vatagins, Bragovskiys, and Birshteins will open their doors, pouring the energy of creativity onto their canvases, joining us in gazing into the mist rising from the ravines—wondering if, for a fleeting moment, eyes from the past will appear within it.