When the mother and father of ten-year-old Lena and Marusya decide to get married, these two completely alien girls are forced to become sisters. Now they share one room, one class, friends, and most importantly, they are fighting for the attention of their parents. Each of them dreams of returning to their former life, and for this it is necessary to embroil adults.
Devoted to the last days of Soviet writer, poet, and Gulag survivor Varlam Shalamov, this film follows the efforts of two of Shalamov’s most devoted admirers to preserve the author’s legacy. Having lost his sight and hearing and living in a retirement home, he carried on doing the only thing that mattered to him — writing — until his final breath. This film is a testament to the value of writings that tell the unpalatable truths of the 20th century. To evoke the gritty texture of the Soviet world, Sententia is shot on 16mm black and white film.