Moscow to host Krasnoyarsk region Documentary Film Days from March 12 to 14, 2025

Krasnoyarsk area Documentary Film Days will be place in Moscow from March 12 to 14, 2025. The event is scheduled to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the Yenisei Kino State Cultural Institution. The Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation, the Russian Geographical Society, and the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov were the project’s partners, which received assistance from the Krasnoyarsk region’s Ministry of Culture.

«For four years, we’ve been showing documentary films on the Krasnoyarsk area to Moscow audiences. And this is an excellent opportunity to not only communicate about the region’s beauty, the strong character of Siberians, and their vast soul, but also to showcase our filmmakers’ ability and develop cultural relations across the regions. It is extremely encouraging that Muscovites and visitors to the capital are exhibiting strong interest in our films. This implies that documentaries made in the region are popular among viewers today. Arkady Zinov, Minister of Culture of the Krasnoyarsk region, stated, «We will continue to develop cinematography in the region, including promoting the documentary film genre.»

Nikolai Bem’s film «Bless Andrey!» will appeal to documentary film aficionados in the capital. The Krasnoyarsk native served as screenplay, producer, and director. The narrative focuses around Andrey, an Old Believer who has returned to his birthplace from Alaska to create icons. The film was recognized at the International Documentary Film Festival «Docker» (2024) and the XVIII International Film Festival «Russian Abroad» in addition to its international debut.

Another work offered for screening will definitely capture the attention of viewers: the film «Choice». This is a collaboration between Krasnoyarsk filmmaker Alexander Kalashnikov and the well-known Russian writer, poet, biologist, and hunter Mikhail Tarkovsky, who wrote the story and co-directed the film. The directors illustrate the topic of life choices through the setting of the Siberian taiga and the example of the main character, the hunter Gennady Solovyov.

To be convinced of its correctness, you must live a complete life. The fruitful collaboration of the authors resulted in the film’s participation in the festivals «Window to Europe», «Saratov Straga», «Flahertiana», «Russia», «Northern Character», «Siberia» and «KinZa». A novel experience for capital inhabitants will be the screening of a one-of-a-kind project in the nation, implemented in the Krasnoyarsk region since 2022, the film magazine «Yenisei Meridian». It showcases the efforts of the film team from the «Yenisei Kino» chronicle section. The plots depict the diversity of environment, events, occurrences, technology, and the region’s biggest asset — its people. The visitor may experience all of this when watching the works «In Search of a Carbon Footprint,» «Russian Village: Yesterday, Today,» and «Engineering Feat.» «The Passing History», «Huts and Pillars: Legends and Generations» or «Putorana Plateau».

«The program of Documentary Film Days will feature two full-length films and the «Yenisei Meridian» project — a newsreel of both significant and everyday events from the life of the Krasnoyarsk region, about its people, sights, and nature,» stated Irina Belova, General Director of the KGAUK “Yenisei Kino”.

In addition to the screening, audiences will get the opportunity to meet with the filmmakers and ask questions about the development process. The screenings will take place at the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov as well as the Russian Geographical Society’s Moscow Lecture Hall.

Schedule of screenings:

Moscow Lecture Hall of the Russian Geographical Society

(Moscow, Novaya Ploshchad, Building 10, Building 2, 5th Floor):

March 12 at 19:00.

A collection of stories from the newsreel «Yenisei Meridian» (47 min., Yenisei Kino State Cultural Institution).

The newsreel will be presented by Irina Belova, General Director of Yenisei Kino State Cultural Institution, Member of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, Honored Cultural Worker of the Krasnoyarsk region, and Vasily Builov, Film Director of Yenisei Kino State Cultural Institution’s Film Chronicle Department.

Registration for the screening will be available at the link: https://russkoe-geograficheskoe-o.timepad.ru/event/3271073/

All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov

(Moscow, Wilhelm Pieck St., 3):

March 13 at 15:30.

Film «Bless Andrey!» (Directed by N. Bem, 2024, 16+, Russia, 63 min.)

After the screening, there will be a creative meeting with the film’s director Nikolai Bem.

Registration for the screening will be available at the link: https://clck.ru/3GnWpo

March 14 at 15:30.

Film «The Choice» (directed by A. Kalashnikov, M. Tarkovsky, 2024, Russia, 53 min.)

After the screening, there will be a creative meeting with the film’s director Alexander Kalashnikov.

Registration for the screening will be available at the link: https://clck.ru/3GnY8t

Entrance by registration. Bring your passport with you.

REFERENCE:

«Yenisei Kino» is the Krasnoyarsk region’s cinematography center, with a significant cultural, educational, and organizational objective. The establishment of «Yenisei Kino» took numerous critical steps. In the late 1980s, video salons began to supplant traditional movie theaters, posing a challenge to the whole film distribution system. The Krasnoyarsk Regional Film and Video Production Association was established in 1988 to react to the changing realities.

By the mid-1990s, the organization had altered again: in 1994, the state firm «Yeniseikinoservice» was established on the foundation of the association, which brought together the regional film distribution units. Simultaneously, the Committee for Cultural Affairs took over control of film services.

In 2000, the firm was renamed the «Yeniseikino» state cultural institution. Ten years later, in 2010, it was renamed «Krasnoyarsk Kinograf». The institution was renamed «Yenisei Kino» in 2018, and it will become an autonomous cultural institution in 2022. Each of these eras represented regional cultural and economic developments while conserving and developing cinema distribution traditions. Two departments based on the KGAUK «Yenisei Kino» were established in January 2022, with the cooperation of the Krasnoyarsk region Government.

The film chronicle department, whose goal is to construct a film archive of the Krasnoyarsk region, the publication of the film magazine «Yenisei Meridian,» which tells about the region’s important events and the interview series «Siberian Accent.» In addition, the department for film shooting aid provides advice and information support to film companies filming in the Krasnoyarsk region. Assistance is offered in identifying filming sites, negotiating with local authorities and organizations, organizing actor castings, and so on.

By 2025, KGAUK Yenisei Kino will still have branches in Kansk and Minusinsk. The institution’s operations remain focused on organizing the functioning of the regional cinema network. Films are acquired for exhibition in the Krasnoyarsk region, and the regional film fund is preserved and restored, which has over 4.5 thousand feature film and documentary titles. Yenisei Kino conducts organizational, methodological, and instructional activities in the field of cinematography, organizes festivals and public events, and actively promotes film in the Krasnoyarsk region.

Yenisei Kino is actively trying to popularize cinematography, conserve cultural heritage, and open up new film production chances in the Krasnoyarsk region.