The Overcoat (2017)

It’s Christmas eve in New York, 1932. Alexi, a large old Russian man, arrives home to find that his young granddaughter has decided to stay up late in the hopes of getting her present early from Santa. Feeling a bit homesick, he sits down with her in front of the open fire and they begin to talk. When she asks about Santa, Alexi gets her to close her eyes and gives her his big old coat as a “present”. But when she complains about the smell he starts telling a story… The story brings us back to the beautiful city of St. Petersburg in the late 1800’s where we meet a young man named Akaky - an ordinary office worker who works in a boring government job that pays very little. With no real family or friends and winter fast approaching, his life is a dull loop of menial tasks and loneliness. That is until his old threadbare coat gets ruined in an accident and he decides to spend all his savings on a brand new one. Suddenly his life is turned upside down people start to pay attention to him. So much so, that he’s invited to a huge Christmas party where he finds himself centre-stage, and finally gets to feel what it’s like to live life to the fullest and not stand on the outside. But unfortunately his new-found confidence and happiness is short lived, and things soon take a ghostly turn.