The first of the films made by Anatoly Baluev in the Komi-Permyak District. What makes this lengthy hour-and-a-half picture unusual is that the director shot it entirely in his native village of Kochevo, where he was born and raised, and where his many relatives and friends still live.
At the same time the film cannot be called merely an ethnographic study: its universal, philosophical essence is already declared in its title («We Were Smoke» is a translation of the Latin saying «Fuimus fumus»).
Prize «For a Film Made with Love and Humour» at the Pärnu Film Festival (Estonia).
Prize for Best Feature Film at the Open Festival of Non-Fiction Cinema «Russia» (Yekaterinburg).