The Russian Circle of the University of Geneva and the Neva Foundation were pleased to present the film "Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman" on the 15th of November, 2012 in the presence of the director Andrey Smirnov.

Andrey Smirnov is a Russian actor and filmmaker who is known for directing the films Angel (1967) and Belarusian Station (1970). He had not been directing motion pictures for almost 30 years, and Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman is the outcome of this long silence.

It took the director a long time to collect the material for the film, he carefully studied the regional dialect and peasants' way of life as well as the history of the terrible civil war and the rebellion in the Tambov Province.

The film tells the story of a Russian village between 1909 and 1922 during the darkest pages of its history through the life, love and tragic fate of Varvara, a simple Russian woman, who experiences the most difficult of times.

This epic film inspired by real events is difficult and highly-charged but the director manages to combine cruelty with incredible tenderness.

The screening of the film took place at Uni-Bastions - 5, rue de Candolle. After the screening Andrey Smirnov spoke about the film conception and answered questions from the audience in Russian and in French.


Partner:Russian circle of the UNIGE