Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Cottbus 2001

In his debut film, the director shows the odyssey of two very different step-sisters through modern-day Russia, allowing the spectators glimpses of the various aspects of a society marked by violence. He manages - not least thanks to his excellent young actresses - to narrate their process of finding their own identity and getting closer to each other in a fresh, unspectacular and humorous way, thus opening a horizon of hope.