Magnitogorsk is an industrial town, in the heart of Russia that depends on its gigantic steel plant: The Kombinat. Lena, a young mother, daughter and grand-daughter of steel workers, teaches dancing lessons, one of the many activities organised by the factory. Amongst her students, there’s Sasha who found in his salsa dance classes, a means to escape from his daily pressure at the Kombinat. Sasha’s brother and his wife are planning to leave Magnitogorsk and its permanent pollution that is the cause of their daughter’s mental handicap.

Different journeys that explore today’s Russia, in the shadow of the rusty smokestacks.

Dir. Gabriel Tejedor - 75min - 2020 - Russia

"Here, time stands eerily still. Once celebrated as the socialist city of steel, Magnitogorsk typifies Stalin’s vision of transforming the largely agrarian nation into an industrialised superpower." - The Guardian

"a beautiful observational documentary" - Backseat Mafia

"an honest snapshot of the human existence with its beauty, mundanity and drama" - Clapper

"conveys the challenges and resilience demanded of life in a place envisaged as a Soviet model of utopian productivity and industrial might, but now one of the most polluted cities in the world" - Modern Times Review