About the Film

Young sociology student Lera works as a pollster at day, and as a stripper at night under the name Gerda. Her father has recently left her constantly sleepy mother for another woman.Seeing bleak scenes of despair on the streets of Russia both at day and night, Lera witnesses her own fate turning to resemble that of the people caught between the Soviet era and today’s Russia. A dangerous encounter one night will free Lera from the desperation she is condemned to.

Named after the heroine of the fairy tale of the Snow Queen, the film paints a harsh portrait of Russia. A highly stylized drama that alternates between the real and the metaphysical, the past and the present, Gerda brought leading actress Anastasiya Krasovskaya the Best Actress Award at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival.