Zakhar lives among the vast Arctic spaces of Siberia, 100 miles away from human dwellings. He is 7, but he has his own reindeer and tundra for pasture. One day his nomad family is joined by a teacher, sent by the authorities to explain to the kids why why they need math and Putin. It’s the 1st grade for Zakhar and the 3rd for his brother Prokopy. The teacher is supposed to give them a standard set of knowledge, but Zakhar craves answers to millions questions about the world. We come to see how rigid the adult thinking is compared to the boy’s inquiring mind.

The schooling also bolsters the friendly rival between the brothers. Prokopy is bigger and stronger, but Zakhar is smarter. Small but exciting things happen to the children every day, and each errand turns into a thrilling adventure.

Russia/Estonia, 2017, 73 min and 52 min

Best European Children's Documentary 2020

Director - Ksenia Elyan

Genre - kids documentary, anthropology

Producers - Max Tuula, Maria Gavrilova, Alexander Rastorguev

Production companies - Marx Film (Estonia) / Black & White Cinema (Russia)

Sales - New Docs (TV, VoD, theatrical) / Marx Film (festivals)

Festivals - IDFA (Amsterdam, Netherlands), DocPoint Tallinn (Tallinn, Estonia), Millenium IFF (Brussels, Belgium), DOKer Moscow IDFF, Best Full-Length Documentary,  goEast FF (Wiesbaden, Germany), TRT Documentary Awards (Istanbul, Turkey), nomination for Best Documentary,  Varesh FF (Babol, Iran), Best Documentary, ex aequo, DOK.fest München, Golden Raven Arctic FF (Anadyr, Russia), Special Mention, Zlin IFF for Children and Youth, Best European Documentary for Young Audience, Documentarist Istanbul FF, Pärnu FF, Best Documentary on the Survival of Indigenous People, Ice Docs (Akranes, Iceland), Flahertiana IDFF (Perm, Russia), Grand Prix for the Best Film of the Festival, Barents Ecology FF (Petrozavodsk, Russia / Joensuu, Finland), Best Debut; Message to Man IFF (St Petersburg, Russia), Best National Documentary and Alexander Rastorguev Special Award , DMZ IDFF (South Korea), Nordkapp Filmfestival (Honningsvåg, Norway), Verzio DHRFF (Budapest, Hungary), Regards de Russe: Semaine du cinema Russe (Paris, France), Festival du cinema Russe (Honfleur, France), Fiorenzo Serra FF (Sassari, Italy), Main Award, CineMaTerre (Metz, France), Best Debut, Sputnik Over Poland FF (Warsaw, Poland), European Children’s Film Association (EFCA) Awards 2020, EFCA’s Best European Documentary, Yakutsk IFF (Yakutsk, Russia), Ojo de Pescado International Film Festival for Children and Youth (Santiago, Chile), Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival (Oulu, Finland), DMZ Docs 2020 (Demilitarized Zone, South Korea), Audience Award, BUZZ IFF (Buzau, Romania), Taiwan International Documentary Festival (Taipei, Taiwan)