Valkoinen taivas

Russian Natalia grew up in a village called Rushes, beautifully situated near a lake. Her father worked in a nickel combine, which was the most important employer in the area. Years later, Natalia‘s husband does the same work under the same dangerous conditions. But the new factory has drastically changed the lives of the people living in this region. The lake has turned into a swamp and the factory spews up poisonous gases and metals. The trees are dead, the soil is grey, the sky is misty. The pollution is so grave that once a year Natalia‘s family undergoes aromatherapy, when they are administered their share of fresh air. All families in the surroundings — 64,000 people are living in the city of Montshegorsk on the Kola Peninsula — try to adapt themselves to the noxious conditions, and to lead as normal as possible a life, in which love can find its place. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)