Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari

In a remote Mari village, everyday moments unfold as fragments of 23 stories, each centered on a woman whose life slips between the ordinary and the uncanny. A chance meeting, a whispered spell, a fleeting desire—these small episodes connect into a larger tapestry where myth and reality constantly blur. The film captures not a single plot but a constellation of intimate glimpses, portraying the Mari world as both rooted in tradition and touched by the surreal.

The film is based on Denis Osokin’s literary work Celestial Wives, continuing his collaboration with director Alexey Fedorchenko after their acclaimed Silent Souls (2010).

The Mari people are a Finno-Ugric ethnic group living in the Mari El Republic of Russia, and the film uses their folklore, traditions, and language to create authenticity.

The film is primarily in the Mari language, the native tongue of the Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group from the Mari El Republic in Russia.