The Kazan International Film Festival "Altyn Minbar" has been held in the capital of Tatarstan since 2005. During its existence, KIMFF acquired the status of a prestigious forum of filmmakers, became an integral attribute of the cultural life of Kazan, an event that helps strengthen the image of the city as a cultural capital. This year, the Organizing Committee of the festival made a suggestion to return the former brand name “Altyn Minbar” before holding the XX film forum, which will take place in Kazan from September 6 to 11.
Kazan International Film Festival “Altyn Minbar” has been held under the motto “Through the dialogue of cultures to the culture of dialogue”. It is aimed at: Experiential exchange between artists from Russia, the CIS, and non-CIS countries; Introduction of achievements of the cinematographers making films promoting universal spiritual and cultural values.
For the third year, the selection committee is headed by the director of the New Institute of Cultural Studies, Candidate of Historical Sciences, leading researcher, head of the department for the development and testing of film education methods at VGIK, expert at the scientific and educational center “Civil Society and Social Communications” of the Institute of State Educational Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, laureate of the Russian Government Prize in the field of education (2021) Nina Kochelyaeva (Russia). Traditionally, the selection committee included Timur Shaikhullin, the Doctor of Philology, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Philology and Country Studies of the Russian Islamic Institute; Svetlana Slapke (Germany), Doctor of Philosophy and Arts, film critic, author of articles and publications about culture and cinema of Central Asia and Türkiye, CEO of “Eurasia Global Connecting Agency”; and Rushan Abbyasov deputy chairman and head of staff of the Muftis Council of Russia, chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Moscow region.
The competition program of the forum includes Russian and foreign films selected by a commission that reflect universal spiritual and moral values and cultural traditions, carrying the ideas of peacemaking, religious tolerance and humanism.
At the XX Kazan International Film Festival “Altyn Minbar” a new nomination was presented in the international competition - “Best Animated Film”. In 2024, the new program will complement the competitions for feature-length and short fiction and documentary films, as well as the National Competition. As part of the last film festival, non-competitive animation screenings took place, which confirmed the high interest of viewers in this area of cinema.
According to the regulations, those wishing to submit their film to participate in the festival had to officially notify the Directorate no later than June 1. In total, the «Altyn Minbar» organizing committee received 814 applications from 47 countries this year.
After the work of the selection committee, a competition program was formed, which included 50 films from 27 countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, China, Switzerland, Malaysia, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Al-Ahsa, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Argentina, New Zealand, Japan. 10 films are presented in the nominations “Full-length feature films”, “Short feature films”, “Documentary films”, “Animation films” and another 10 films in the National Competition, which includes films produced in Tatarstan and films about Tatarstan.
Kazan International Film Festival “Altyn Minbar” differs by the fact that annually the directorate receives a huge number of applications from all over the world. The international competition and “Russia – Islamic world” program include participants from 30 countries. This year is marked by interesting co-production projects. For instance, there is a short feature film, “The Summer End Poem,” made by cinematographers from China, Switzerland, and Malaysia. The documentary film “Cubarouis” is a co-production between Morocco and Cuba. According to the head of the selection committee, Nina Kochelyaeva, the festival follows not only regional diversity but also embraces new countries, which marks the global tendencies of the forum.
To see the short list of the Kazan International Film Festival “Altyn Minbar” click here.
Since 2019, as part of the program of events, has been organized the work of the Business Platform, which is a territory of association of specialists in the field of cinema, education, film industry, producers, representatives of film festivals - partners, film forums, international film organizations, experts and opinion leaders.
The business platform provides conditions for project implementation and signing arrangements in the field of cinema and has three directions:
• International pitching of film projects;
• Regional Film Market;
• Educational master classes.
The main task of the International Pitching is to stimulate the development of joint film production with the Republic of Tatarstan in the regions of Russia, including the participation of foreign countries and the discovery of new names in the cinematic world, the presentation of new projects and the search for fresh ideas for the development of cinema, introducing film producers to producers, directors and other persons interested in joint film projects. The winner of the pitching receives a prize of 500 thousand rubles; the reward also includes producing projects, their support at various stages of implementation from leading Russian and foreign filmmakers, free provision or discounts on services in the field of film production.
The regional film market is one of the key events of the business program of the Kazan Film Festival: it is a platform for the implementation of joint projects in the field of cinema. Among the objectives of the film market are the establishment of cooperation between the “players” of the film industry, the integration of international film organizations into the Russian market and the creation of a catalog of films, which will make it possible to popularize regional cinema in the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. The program includes a presentation of film studios, distribution companies, online cinemas, TV channels and films by independent producers and directors.
In 2024, the events of the Business Platform will be held on the territory of the Kazan State Institute of Culture.
It should be noted that “Altyn Minbar” was included in the list of film projects supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The Kazan International Film Festival is held with the support of the Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and the Russian Ministry of Culture, as well as in partnership with the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia - Islamic World”.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: KIFF "Altyn Minbar"