As the Civil War was drawing to a close, the Republic sent over 3,000 children to Russia, along with nurses, doctors, teachers, and others to care for them. From the beginning, the relationship between the “Ispansi” (Russian for Spaniards) and their somewhat reluctant hosts was difficult, plagued by language differences, shortage of supplies, and increasingly by political disagreements. But after Hitler’s invasion, both hosts and guests found themselves struggling together to survive. Carlos Iglesias’s gripping new film tells a little-known chapter of Spanish history with grace and sensitivity to the complexity of the historical moment.