On Monday, 13 November, the 43rd VGIK International Student Film Festival opened in Moscow and will run until 17 November. Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova sent greetings to the participants and guests of the festival. She noted that the cultural event has been gathering professionals and amateurs of the film industry from all over the world for more than 60 years. According to her, the festival has a special creative atmosphere, which attracts an increasing number of participants and experts of the highest level.

The festival is organised by the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov, the Producing Center “VGIK-Debut”, and the Creative Studio “Stella” with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, and the National Fund for Supporting Rights Holders.

TV BRICS is the festival’s media partner.

The festival organisers received 350 applications. Sixty-nine films were selected for the competition. Festival participants from 46 countries will have to fight hard for the prizes of the authoritative film festival. It will unfold between representatives of 58 film schools from China, India, Belgium, Montenegro, Iran, Spain, Indonesia, Germany, Slovenia, Guatemala and Argentina. The list of participants also includes filmmakers from Australia, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Armenia, Honduras, Uganda, Senegal, Spain, Nepal, Mexico and Japan.

VGIK will also present five films – winners of the first stage, including Grand Prix winner Andrey Dupliakin (workshop of N. V. Skuibin and A. G. Malkin) with the film “Ausweis”.

The award-winning films of the first stage will be shown in Moscow from 14 to 16 November at the Museum of Cinema, Khanzhonkov Cinema Hall at VDNKh, Poklonka Cinema and ZIL Cultural Centre.

Student films will also be presented in cinemas in different regions of Russia: Kamchatka and the Crimea, Central Russia and the Volga region, the Komi Republic and Siberia. These are not only large cities. but also small settlements. Based on the results of the audience questionnaire, the Audience Choice Award will be presented.

The jury of the film competition will be headed by director and screenwriter Alexander Veledinsky (Russia). The jury will be chaired by Maria Muat (Russia), Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, animation director; Jaume Vilalta (Spain), film producer; Gavin Li (China), Deputy Secretary General of the China Children’s Film Association; and Rashmi Doraiswamy (India), professor at the New Delhi Academy of International Studies and member of NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema).

Along with the film competition, the 19th Theatre Competition will be held at VGIK. Its participants this year will be performances created in Serbia (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, University of Arts in Belgrade) and China (“The Brothers Karamazov”, Shanghai Theatre Academy), as well as works by the best Moscow theatre schools: Moscow Art Theatre School (“The Secret of Bi-Dubi-bu”), Institute of Contemporary Art (“Marriage”), M. S. Shchepkin Higher Theatre School (“Sin da trouble on whom does not live”), GITIS (“The Cherry Orchard”), “Do not part with your beloved”, S. A. Gerasimov VGIK.

The festival will also be remembered by the participants and guests of the creative programme.

Thus, on 14 November at 18:00 VGIK will host a screening of the film “Dostoevsky Intercontinental” – a documentary project of the joint editorial office of TV BRICS.

In addition, Ivan Zakharenko, a leading director of special projects of TV BRICS and TV channel “Prodvizheniye”, a director of fiction and documentary cinema, will hold a master class on “International Production in Documentary Filmmaking. How to make an international film about a Russian writer and show it in five countries. The experience of TV BRICS in making the first ever international documentary film by the united editorial staff of the BRICS countries”.

The VGIK International Student Film Festival is one of the most authoritative platforms for demonstrating creative achievements of future screen artists, where students of Russian and foreign film schools can show their academic, course, diploma film and theatre works to the general public.

The main goal of the festival is to recognise and encourage young talents of contemporary cinema, to assess the prospects of development of the national and world cinema. The festival is called to promote the development of dialogue of cultures, strengthening Russia’s integration into the world cultural space.

The festival has been held since 1961, and its winners and laureates have been directors whose work has been highly appreciated not only at the Russian but also at the world level. Among them are Andrey Konchalovsky, Elem Klimov, Andrey Tarkovsky, Vasily Shukshin, Nikita Mikhalkov, Vadim Abdrashitov, Sergey Soloviev, Alexander Hunt, Boris Akopov, Alexander Tsoy, Alexei German Jr, Alexander Kott, Anna Melikyan, Pyotr Buslov, Alexey Mizgirev and others.

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