The name of this documentary - Piter - refers to the city of St Petersburg. If my memory does not deceive me, one of the persons in the film tells a story of how she has never grown accustomed to the change of names - for her, Petersburg is still Leningrad.
The film consists of interviews with people living in Petersburg, young and old. Some of these clips are very funny - such as the clip when we see a woman/man (it is left unclear, I think) collecting cans. A woman turns to the camera, angrily asking whether the crew has permission to film. She then says that the crew shouldn't be filming the can collector - s/he doesn't give a good impression of "Russians", and, she goes on, growling to the can collector, "at least you could make an effort and comb your hair!" (The can collector is the person of whom I got the most sympathetic and complex picture) In a way, this confrontation sums up the themes of the film - "Russia today - what is it like?" Of course, this is an important question, and at least for me the film was a fortunate attempt to collect some perspectives on Russia, Petersburg - past and present.
The film consists of interviews with people living in Petersburg, young and old. Some of these clips are very funny - such as the clip when we see a woman/man (it is left unclear, I think) collecting cans. A woman turns to the camera, angrily asking whether the crew has permission to film. She then says that the crew shouldn't be filming the can collector - s/he doesn't give a good impression of "Russians", and, she goes on, growling to the can collector, "at least you could make an effort and comb your hair!" (The can collector is the person of whom I got the most sympathetic and complex picture) In a way, this confrontation sums up the themes of the film - "Russia today - what is it like?" Of course, this is an important question, and at least for me the film was a fortunate attempt to collect some perspectives on Russia, Petersburg - past and present.