A Portrait of Resilience, a Testament to Art.
The film opens with intimate shots of Lydia Grigorieva’s London home and garden, gradually shifting to glimpses of her childhood spent in the far North. Lydia reads her poetry as archival footage from the thaw of the 1960s emerges, evoking memories of her youth, her first steps in poetry, and the circle of young writers she was part of, among them Joseph Brodsky.
We journey with her through personal losses - the deaths of loved ones, the weight of private tragedies. Yet even in these moments, Lydia remains resilient: her poetry and inner world continue to thrive. We walk with her through the garden, witness its profusion of blooms, and come to understand the richness of her inner life, where the earthly and the eternal intertwine.
'Lydia Grigorieva. I choose to live' is a story of the freedom of spirit, of human resilience, and of how life itself can be transformed into poetry, leaving an enduring trace in the hearts and memories of those ready to listen to her piercing voice and immerse themselves in the story of her extraordinary journey.
Director's Statement
"When I began working on this film, I asked myself: 'Does a person shape their destiny, or does destiny guide them?' The film about Lydia Grigorieva is an attempt to lift the veil on the mysteries of her fate - to reveal her inner freedom, her ability to transform pain into word, word into life, and life into eternity."
"Poetry is at once fragile and enduring. Poets have always carried their gift as both burden and blessing... In our technological era the struggle takes another form, yet it is no less profound: to remain faithful to rhythm, to language, to silence. To speak when speech itself risks dissolving into noise."
"For me, as a poet and writer, this film is a dialogue through the camera. I speak of Lydia, yet through her voice and her poems I speak myself... What I long to show in this film is a conversation beyond words. Let the words remain off-screen, resting in the depths of the heart. Let us instead speak in the radiance of desire, in the whisper of a glance, in the trembling of the air. In this way we may feel life itself."
- Maria Bregman
Film Details
- Project Type: Documentary
- Runtime: 49 minutes
- Completion Date: September 2025
- Country of Origin: United Kingdom
- Language: Russian
- Shooting Format: 4K
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Film Color: Color
Gallery
The Creative Team
Direction & Production
Maria Bregman
Director, Producer, Writer
Yulia Tulegenova
Writer
Key Cast
Lidiya Grigorieva
as Herself
Post-Production
Yulia Tulegenova
Post-production Director
Ivan Krutov
Editor
Katerina Karp
Creative Director
Nikolai Zyuzin
Graphic Designer
Maria Snegireva
Colourist
Music
Anna Zhila
Musical Director
Yan Bregman
Musical Editor
Creative Consultants
Andrei Raikin
Creative Consultant
Svetlana Vasilenko
Creative Consultant
Consultants
Georgy Bregman
Consultant
Yuri Tkachenko
Consultant
Ivan Murman
Consultant
Artur Strakhov
Consultant