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A woman looking for new love may have found it where she least expects in this comedy. Anna Pavlova (Evgenia Dobrovolskaya) is a veteran actress whose personal life and career have both seen better days; her marriage is clearly on its last legs, and her current role is an unchallenging supporting part in a second-rate stage production. Despite all this Anna has been able to hold on to her sharp sense of humor, and her quick wit makes her a favorite among her colleagues, including a member of the stage crew (Alexander Abdulov) with whom she's been having an on-and-off affair. Anna spends most of her free time with her good friend Musya (Maria Aronova), and one evening as they go out for dinner they're joined by Vikentiy (Yuri Stepanov), who had been friends with Musya's husband since college. Vikentiy is a chubby scientist doing research on parasites, and Anna initially finds him amusing and little more, but her quick wit and mature good looks have a powerful effect on him, and by the end of the evening he's fallen in love with her. Artiska (aka Actress) received its American debut at the 2007 New York Russian Film Week Festival.