Ivanna, a reindeer herder in the Russian arctic and mother of five children, is forced to emigrate to the city due to the deteriorating conditions of life in the tundra. With great intimacy and empathy, Life of Ivanna portrays her struggle to gain control over her life and future.

Strong and passionate, Ivanna is a young Indigenous Nenets woman who is raising her five children alone in the harsh environment of the Arctic tundra. Living the traditional way of life for nomadic Nenets people, she herds reindeer through the vast wilderness in a small nomadic community, moving her one-room home on sleds by reindeer, and enduring extreme colds and fierce winds. Ivanna does the work traditionally done by a husband and wife pair in order for her family to survive, as Gena, father of her five children, lives in the city while struggling with alcoholism and unemployment.

But due to the environmental impacts of climate change, most of Ivanna's reindeer are dying. Given the fast deteriorating conditions of her life in the tundra and knowing she will soon be ruined, Ivanna takes her life into her own hands and decides to emigrate to the Siberian city of Norilsk. Though city life is not what she expects, there is no way back.

Life of Ivanna depicts a woman determined to build a better life for herself and her family in the face of modernity.