Larisa. Svešā zemē stādu rozes

This documentary is about singer Larisa Mondrus, whose musical career and life story are unique. In the 1960s, Larisa’s voice was first heard in occupied Latvia, and then, when her family moved to Moscow, she became famous throughout the Soviet Union. In the 1970s, Larisa Mondrusa fell out of favor with Soviet cultural officials and managed to emigrate to the Federal Republic of Germany, where she surprisingly built a brilliant career on the German pop music scene. Larisa’s songs in Latvian also gained enormous popularity in Latvia, behind the Iron Curtain. People listened to Larisa, as well as the Chicago Five, Ilmārs Dzenis, and others, on illegally imported records and widely distributed recordings. The filmmakers met with Larisa Mondrus, her partner Egīls Švarcs in Germany, and interviewed Larisa’s contemporaries and stage colleagues.