During the 13th and 14th centuries, when the Mongols occupied most of Russia, Novgorod was a center of trade and culture that was known for its important school of icon and mural painting. Although the town’s historic monuments were inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1990, it is Moscow and St. Petersburg, rather than Novgorod, that are the artistic and cultural centers of contemporary Russia. So what is life like for those creative citizens of Veliky Novgorod who prefer to remain in their hometown? Sofia Kirsanova’s documentary introduces us to some of them, who share with us the difficulties as well as the delights of making art ‘in a small town’.