On the first day of the New Year, a lonely caretaker writes a letter that she mails before sweeping the street in the morning. As the seasons glide through the streets, as time passes and the years churn on, something remains the same. She receives a letter in return: it heralds a new year and a new life.

Vladimir Leschiov’s films hold a promise of the arrival of something unexpected and slightly miraculous into everyday life. This short film in watercolours, is about expectations that will one day cease. It was entered into competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Through Waiting for the New Year, the director returns to his childhood when he spent a lot of time with his grandmother’s sister, who was a caretaker. In the director’s own words, this film is a tribute to those who are lonely and to the fragile beauty of dreams and the changing seasons.