Opinions & Interviews
Petrishenko: Listapad film festival should take on new heights this year
MINSK, 24 August (BelTA) - The Minsk International Film Festival Listapad should be very well organized, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko said during a meeting of the organizing committee for the film festival, BelTA reports.
"Soon the Minsk International Film Festival Listapad will again open its doors to connoisseurs of cinema and everyone who wants to savor the best samples of Belarusian and world cinema. It's no secret that our festival is an excellent platform for establishing business and creative ties, exchanging experience and intercultural communication. The fanfare of the previous festival has long faded away, and everyone had the opportunity to analyze the results achieved, explore the ideas and innovations that proved their worth and identify new ways to improve the work," said Igor Petrishenko.
He noted that last year the festival got a new creative team. "Thanks to their professional work, the festival drew 54 participating countries, which was a record high. The geography of participants expanded, and the quality bar was raised. This year, we must set ourselves a new goal and take on new heights. In this regard, the organizers and the directorate of the film festival have their work cut out to ensure a high level of this international forum," the deputy prime minister said.
This year Listapad in Minsk will be running on 4-11 November. "This year has been declared as the Year of Historical Memory in Belarus, and this will be the common theme. The festival will screen a collection of Belarusfilm and it will be very interesting. We will also continue the practice of involving our regions to the premiere screenings of competitive films. It has justified itself. Filmmakers and artists will meet in Minsk, pitch new ideas how cinematography could grow further and unite our peoples. I hope that we will please not only Belarusian cinema audiences but also all film lovers with new approaches, new ideas and new films," the deputy prime minister added.
"There is a lot of work to do before the festival opens. There are issues that need to be addressed. This is an invitation to foreign guests and participants, the selection of the jury of competitive programs, the search for partners and sponsors, new forms of interaction between representatives of the cinematographic community. Particular attention should be paid to the selection of candidates for the special award of the president "For the preservation and development of the traditions of spirituality in cinema" and the prize "For humanism and spirituality in cinema", Igor Petrishenko added.
According to the Telegram channel of the Culture Ministry the festival will feature competitive programs and a wide out-of-competition and retrospective programs, meet-and-greets, workshops, exhibitions. Like last year, the competitive programs will be screened not only in the capital, but also in the regions. Orsha, this year’s cultural capital, will host a meet-and-greet with filmmakers from the countries participating in the festival.
In addition to the traditional programs of feature films, non-fiction films, children’s Listapadzik, this year's competition program includes a new nomination - animated films.
The jury will determine the best films in each of the nominations. By tradition, the prize named after the Belarusian film director Viktor Turov will be awarded (regardless of the nomination).
Another novelty concept of the 28th edition of the film festival is pitching of student films and film projects dedicated to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Launched in 1994, the Listapad film festival is designed to screen the best movies made in the post-Soviet space. The first festival showed films from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan. Over time, the film festival expanded, gained credibility, and in 2003 officially acquired the status of international event.
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