80 years have passed since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. On June 22, the world again froze in a mournful moment of silence. But 2021 marks the 80th anniversary of another historical tragedy, the beginning of the Holocaust in Russia. Everyone knows the places of mass extermination of Jews: Auschwitz, Dachau, Babi Yar, the ghettos in Minsk and Warsaw. But there were also small towns in Russia, very close by. The film tells about the very first mass execution in the town of Nevel (not far from Pskov). The Holocaust in Russia began there, in September 1941. However, viewers will learn not only about the past tragedy and the courage of those who saved the Jews, but also about how carefully and carefully the memory is preserved today. Among the heroes of the film are well-known public figures of Russia, journalists, creative intelligentsia and just ordinary people, witnesses of history.

On June 22, 2021, Russia froze in a tragic memory of the dawn of the year 1941. The metronome counted 80 years. The date that united the people 80 years ago still unites a divided society today. But war, like any great tragedy, breaks up into faces and destinies. Sometimes individual, and sometimes entire nations. This is a film about the war and people of art, who also fought for victory with their creativity. All of them come from the small Russian town of Nevel, but many of them were waiting for world fame, and today their names are inscribed in the history of Russian culture. Among the heroes of the film are the famous pianist Maria Yudina, the poet Boris Pasternak, the writer Tamara Petkevich, front-line cameramen, the Hero of the Soviet Union Manshuk Mametova, the daughter of an enemy of the people, and many others.