Spring on Zarechnaya Street / Vesna na Zarichnii vulytsi

The story unfolds in an industrial town where a young and charming literature teacher arrives, assigned to teach at an evening school. One of the boys from the metallurgical plant falls in love with the educated girl, but communication between the two young people turns out to be quite challenging.

This film was one of the first post-war movies from the Odesa Film Studio. It not only showed spring in cinematography but also became a symbol of the beginning of the political thaw in the USSR. Filming of Spring on Zarechnaya Street began in 1953, the year of Stalin’s death, and was released in 1956, coinciding with the reevaluation of his cult of personality.

The movie also marked the debut of graduates from VDIK (All-Union State Institute of Cinematography) such as Yurii Belov, Nikolai Rybnikov, and Gennadii Yukhtin, who later became stars of Soviet cinema. The role of the teacher, Tetiana Serhiivna, was played by the non-professional actress Nina Ivanova.

Most of the film was shot in Zaporizhzhia, where the beautiful love story unfolds against the backdrop of springtime roads, modest worker’s homes, and the light of open-hearth furnaces. It was this simplicity, recognizability, and lack of artificiality that garnered over 30 million views and nationwide love for the film and its characters.