A documentary portrait of the life and work of the legendary Ukrainian actress Natalia Uzhvii (1898–1986), the film is composed of excerpts from her films and stage performances, alongside newly shot documentary and staged footage. One of Sergei Paradjanov’s early works, it was commissioned by the Kyiv Television Studio and produced primarily for television broadcast.

Framed by the characteristic ideological narration of Socialist Realism, the film introduces viewers to Uzhvii’s biography and her most celebrated screen and stage performances. Among them are her roles in Donskoi’s “Rainbow” (1943), Savchenko’s “Taras Shevchenko” (1951), Yura and Shmaruk’s “Stolen Happiness” (1952), Levchuk’s “Flame of Wrath” (1956), and many others. Of all the characters she portrayed, the film places particular emphasis on the image of the mother—a role Uzhvii hoped to continue developing in the coming space age, dreaming of creating “the image of the mother of an interplanetary traveler.”

Notably absent, however, is any mention of her work with the avant-garde Berezil Theatre, even though the rehabilitation of Les Kurbas and his theatre had already begun by the late 1950s.