Larisa's Crew

In Soviet times the walls of a typical small apartment in a block of flats were mostly decorated with carpets and reproductions clipped from popular magazines. With the growth of Russian citizens' prosperity the carpets were moved to the floor and the reproductions were replaced with paintings in gilded frames. Consequently a fitting “folk craft” and the most popular and democratic genre of decorative art has quickly developed: straight-line production of oil paintings are sold on markets, along highways, at street fairs. Our film focuses on seven female artists led by an enterpreneur Larisa Gamidova who replicate the same landscapes and still lives day in day out. Their routine work hasn't however deprived the artists of creative ambition. They rejoice at success, complain about the audience's bad taste, and cantankerously compare their creations with the works of Russian art classics.