sentences:  Residents of the Lesogorsky Orphanage in Leningrad were cast as orphans in the film.The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was shown at the Taipei Film Festival and the Buster Children's Film Festival in Denmark before going into theatrical release in Russia.It was shown at the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Morelia Film Festival in Mexico and the Paris Mon Premier Festival joden before going into limited release in the United States.