A strange man arrives in the provincial town of Zarechensk: he knows no one, lives nowhere, and tries to find odd jobs at the local market. Meanwhile, in a coastal city, a film festival is coming to an end. All the residents of Zarechensk, including the mayor, the inhabitants of the orphanage, and the local police, watch the closing ceremony of the film festival on TV. They dream of one day seeing these famous, cheerful people with their own eyes...