Galina Pyanova

Nagima, the central character of this compelling and emotionally devastating drama, is a young woman brought up in an orphanage and now barely surviving in contemporary Kazakhstan. She washes dishes in the factory-like kitchen of a big restaurant in Almaty and steals leftovers to bring back to the shack she shares with Anya, her sister. When the heavily pregnant Anya falls ill and requires medical help, she is confronted by the desperately limited options available to both of them (E. Lawrenson) (London Film Festival Programme)