The film was directed at Mosfilm by the Georgian-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov in 1957 and starred Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. Adapted by Viktor Rozov from his play, the film won the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, the only Soviet film to win that award. (In 1946, "The Turning Point" was one of eleven films awarded the Grand Prix, the predecessor of the Palme d'Or.)