22nd Minsk International Film Festival Listapad
Despite the gloomy weather, November is a special time for Minsk residents and guests. It is probably not by chance that the international festival Listapad, which has become Belarus’ calling card and one of the largest film festivals in Eastern Europe, is held at this time of the year, when it is so nice to gather at cinema houses and enjoy the world’s best films almost around the clock. The 22nd edition of the international festival Listapad was held under the slogan Eye of Pleasure. This year’s program of the festival had something for everyone’s taste, from classics and mainstream movies to arthouse and conceptual auteur films…
The festival marked the 120th anniversary of the world cinematography. Its program included 184 films from 60 countries: world premieres, winners of prestigious film festivals, retrospectives of films by eminent directors and debut works by young filmmakers. The program of the Main Feature Film Competition included 12 films from Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Kyrgyzstan, Argentina, Cuba, and Vietnam…
Apart from the eventful competition program, cinema enthusiasts enjoyed movies filmed by the legendary Gorky Film Studio founded 100 years ago, exhibitions, and meetings with famous actors and directors. The presentation of Fanny Ardant’s second work as a director, the film Obsessive Rhythms, was one of the most exiting events of Listapad 2015.
By tradition, the festival hosted the competition of films for children and young people Listapadzik. Viewers saw the best family movies made by filmmakers from Belarus, Russia, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland, United States, Canada, and Myanmar.
Listapad 2015 ended with a closing ceremony where the international jury headed by film director Vadim Abdrashitov announced the winners.
The Grand Prix of the 22nd Minsk International Film Festival Listapad was awarded to The Lesson, a Bulgarian-Greek film directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. Listapad Silver Award in the nomination Film as an Art Phenomenon was given to The Project of the Century (Cuba, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland) directed by Carlos M. Quintela. Listapad Bronze, the audience choice award, was presented to Rams (Iceland, Denmark), director Grimur Hakonarson.
