Our Mama Is a Hero

At the time of release, this Russian cinema classic was presented by first-time filmmaker Nikolai Obukhovich as the portrait of a heroine of the socialist labor movement, weaver Yekaterina Golubeva. The authorities were unconcerned at the prospect of another film about a socialist labor icon, someone whose portraits graced the streets of her hometown of Ivanovo. But Obukhovich gave his documentary a completely different twist. He revealed that Golubeva's family had to pay a high price for her newfound fame. Obukhovich showed a child deprived of motherly care and a father forced to fill in for her. Yes, she had suddenly become an important person - there was even a statue made of her - but she also lost the most important things in her life: a sense of family, love and her role as a mother. When the Soviet authorities saw the documentary, they realized they had misjudged Obukhovich. remained banned until the fall of the Soviet Union.