Little Vera (Malenkaya Vera)Pichul's stunning film was made during the key period of Gorbachev's "glasnost" when filmmakers were given a new freedom to graphically describe the starkness of Soviet social realities.
Set in the bleak industrial Ukrainian town of Zhdanov, it follows Vera, who struggles to define herself beyond the values of the Old Regime administered by the State and her family.
This low budget, highly successful film was written by Mariya Khmelik (Pichul's wife) and captures the poverty of contemporary Soviet life while truthfully discussing censorship, violence, societal dysfunction and sexuality.
