625 applications from 44 countries of the world, 5 competitive nominations, films dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria, new venues for film screenings and business meetings - perhaps this is only a small part of what the XVIII Kazan International Muslim Festival has prepared for the audience. movie. This year it will be held from 7 to 11 September. The competition program will be shown at the cinema "Cinema 5" in the shopping center "Respublika", and the films included in the out-of-competition programs will be presented at the Gallery of Modern Art, the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Kazan State Institute of Culture, the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Children's Center "Ekiyat ". Representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the organizing committee of the festival spoke about which films were included in the program, what should be paid attention to and how regional cinema has grown today at a press conference.
According to Victoria Dautova, Head of the Department of Networking, International and Interregional Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, the opening of the festival will take place in the Kazan City Hall, and the closing - in the Pyramid Cultural and Entertainment Complex. As for the hosts, the opening ceremony will be hosted by Russian theater and film actress Olesya Sudzilovskaya, and the famous actor Ivan Kolesnikov will close the festival.
“In total, 625 applications from 44 countries of the world were registered this year. To date, everyone can already get acquainted with the short list of works that were included in the competition program. In total, 50 works were included - 10 films in each category: feature films and short feature films, as well as full and short documentaries, a national competition. Among the finalists of the festival are Russian and foreign films that reflect universal spiritual and moral values and cultural traditions that carry the ideas of peacemaking, religious tolerance and humanism,” Dautova told reporters.
As for the members of the jury, this year the Honored Art Worker of Russia and People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Khotinenko became the chairman of the judging commission. By the way, his painting "Muslim" will be presented as part of an out-of-competition program dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam. The executive director of the festival, Milyausha Aytuganova, spoke about this, noting that for the first time in the history of Russian cinema, the themes of Islam and religious tolerance were raised in this film.
Also, the ranks of the jury members will be replenished by world-famous directors. Among them are film critic, writer Hamid Benamra (Algeria, France), director and producer Anara Kashaganova (Kazakhstan), director and producer Amer Salmin Al Murri (UAE), documentary film director Narges Abyar (Iran), director Haobam Paban Kumar (India) , well-known film critic, film critic, jury member of many festivals Ihsan Kabil (Turkey) and actress, director Ilham Shahein (Egypt). Russia in the jury will be represented by the rector of the Russian Islamic Institute, chairman of the Council for Islamic Education Rafik Mukhametshin and film critic, documentary filmmaker Valery Fomin.
According to the chairman of the selection committee of the festival, Nina Kochelyaeva, every year there is a significant increase in regional cinema, in particular, Tatarstan films. As the expert noted, Tatarstan films introduce new trends into the Russian film market and begin to master the international market, setting the tone for other Russian film companies, including in the field of interaction with colleagues from other countries.
“Separately, I would like to say about the film premieres that will take place within the framework of our festival. Thus, for the first time the viewer will see the picture of the Russian director Alexander Galibin "The Adventures of Little Baja", which was included in the competition program in the nomination "Feature Feature Films". Films shot in co-production will also be presented: the film “Tarlan”, filmed by Tatarstan and Kazakhstan, the work “Uncle Misha”, filmed by a Tatarstan team together with colleagues from Tajikistan, and “Corridor of Memories”, which was filmed by Tatarstan and Vietnam. A truly world premiere will be the screening of the work of the Iranian director Mohsen Eslamzade "No one is waiting for you." For the first time, Russian viewers will see such works as “Quiet Glory” (Iran), “Pedro” (India), “It happened on Talaat Kharba Street, 2,” Kochelyaeva specified.
The executive director of the film festival, Milyausha Aytuganova, in turn, noted that in connection with the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria, the organizing committee of the festival has prepared a separate non-competitive program that will be shown at the Gallery of Modern Art. Among the selected paintings are "Kul Sharif", "Bilyar", "Madrese" and others. The ethnic program deserves special attention, which will also be widely presented during the festival.“Days of Kazakh and Iranian cinema will be held this year within the framework of the festival. We have prepared separate retrospectives for the 90th anniversary of the film director Andrei Tarkovsky and the 95th anniversary of the theater and film director, screenwriter Vladimir Motyl, as well as the memory of Renat Ibragimov. With his work “Tatarstan. On the Roads of Discovery” Valdis Pelsh will come to us. As for the opening film, it will be Ibn Fadlan by Ainaz Mukhametzyanov,” Aytuganova said.
Speaking about the mission of the Kazan Film Festival, Milyausha Aytuganova stressed that the main thing here is dialogue. According to the executive director, Tatarstan is the center of traditional Islam in Russia and is a link between Russia and the Islamic world. And for Russia, this is a window to the international arena, including Muslim countries. The main objective of the festival is to show the diversity of paintings, demonstrate ethnic, religious and family values, popularize peace and good neighborliness.
In addition to film screenings and a competitive program, the Kazan Muslim Festival focuses on the business area. Thus, according to Aituganova, the international pitching of the film project will help attract more filmmakers to Tatarstan, since only those applications that offer the creation of films in co-production with the republic were accepted. To date, about 40 applications have already been accepted. Among those wishing to make films together with Tatarstan are Egypt, Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Abkhazia, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and other countries.
For the first time, during the work of the business platform, a forum of film schools will be held, to which film educational institutions of Russia are invited.
“The regional film market has become especially in demand in the current conditions. Now the Russian box office is urgently looking for a replacement for Hollywood cinema, and we have invited several foreign countries with their presentations. Thus, Iran, the CIS countries, China and India will present their selection of national films, which will be of interest to our viewers as well,” Aytuganova added.
After the end of the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, all Tatarstan films will be presented in the repertoire of the Mir cinema as soon as it reopens its doors. It is too early to speak about the degree of interest of Russian cinemas in regional films shot in co-production, experts noted. However, every year the “Echo of the Festival” takes place, within the framework of which Kazan and other large cities of the republic show a squeeze from the competition program of the film festival.
Recall that the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival is held with the support of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the Ministry of Culture of Russia and in partnership with the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group.
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