Director: Anna Melikyan
Cast: Masha Shalaeva, Yevgeniy Tsyganov, Maria Sokova, Nastya Dontsova, Irina Skrinichenko, Veronica Skugina

Russia, 2008
35 mm / Colour / 115’
Russian; English & Turkish s.t.

2008 Sundance World Cinema Directing Award
2008 Berlin FIPRESCI Prize
2008 Sofya Best Film

A sad urban fairytale about Alisa, an 8-year-old girl, who dreams of becoming a ballerina, and who has special talents —she can influence the weather and make wishes come true. Years later, Alisa is in Moscow. She’s 17 now, but faced with the harsh reality of life, without ambition or hope. Dubbed the Russian Amélie for its visual style, Mermaid grapples with love, modernity, the materialism of New Russia and the modern face of Moscow. Uplifting, depressing, and just plain strange.