A Tale of Singers and Murderers

They sing about love, war and forgiveness. The voices pertain to drug dealers, thieves or murderers jailed in one of the about thousand Russian prisons or penal camps. They all dream about becoming part of the song contest “Kalina Krasnaya“. Each of the approximately 700,000 Russian prisoners has the opportunity to participate. Natalia Abashkina, director of the show, travels tirelessly through the country looking for talents and caring about her fosterlings. The film explores the world behind bars, reflects the social reality of a state still characterized by arbitrariness and brutality – and encounters people who, in the penal camps, discover their artistic soul.