Siberian Dream

My people were nomads for millennia, and in time, their blood compelled me across the world...." Born into an ancient indigenous Siberian culture, Irina Pantaeva came of age with a rich heritage of spirituality and creativity that was often at odds with the world around her - a world in which individuality was stifled. As a girl, she began to associate the simple act of getting dressed every day with freedom of self-expression, a freedom that almost landed her in a juvenile home. Picked by a talent scout to star in a Soviet film, Irina came to Moscow, a city in which old borders and ideologies were collapsing. Embarking on an odyssey through a Moscow of wild parties and Russian rock stars, Irina witnessed the terrifying uncertainty of a new nation in turmoil. Amid the change and corruption, she lost a beloved friend to political violence, saw others fall prey to drugs and prostitution, and was nearly killed herself on a darkened road outside the city. Then, against all odds, she ventured on an impossible journey to Paris, where she struggled to break into the fashion industry, still enduring rejection because her exotic beauty was not readily accepted. Irina's moving tale culminates with her arrival in New York and her unprecedented rise to superstardom. A triumphant story of determination and passion, SIBERIAN DREAM, is the remarkable true-life story of two worlds - one the spirit world of Siberia and the other the glamorous and exciting world of the international catwalk and film-set. Irina Pantaeva emerges as a young woman with a heart big enough to span both of them.