From 5 to 10 September, Kazan will traditionally host the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, which every year presents the world’s best films, carrying the message of peace and harmony, telling about the life of Muslim and Muslim regions. The solemn opening ceremony will take place on 5 September at the Kazan City Hall. On 10 September the festival will come to its logical conclusion at the Pyramid Shopping Centre.
The opening film of the festival will become a documentary by Grigory Nakhapetov dedicated to writer Chingiz Aitmatov. The film raises the theme of responsibility of prominent figures in politics, science and culture for the momentous processes taking place in the world, in establishing a dialogue between the East and the West. It is precisely because of its extreme relevance that the film was proposed for screening by the selection committee and approved by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan.
This year the organizing committee has received more than 550 applications from 45 countries, which shows the demand for the festival. One of the most important issues in holding the Kazan Film Festival is ensuring safety and observing anti-Covid measures during the pandemic. Damir Natfullin, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, spoke about the measures envisaged. ‘The situation is under strict control. Every foreign visitor receives a permit of the Russian Ministry of Culture. They are provided with PCR tests before their arrival and upon arrival in Tatarstan. Indoor activities are carried out in accordance with the seating rules introduced. All precautionary measures will be strictly observed during the entire film festival’, he said.
In turn, during the press conference, Milyausha Aituganova, Executive Director of the Festival, Director of the Tatarkino State Budgetary Institution of Culture, spoke in more detail about the upcoming innovations. For instance, this time a strong emphasis will be placed on the development of regional cinematography.
‘We all face the situation when our films do not reach the audience, cinemas do not pick them up into distribution. This is why we decided to gather directors and producers of regional film companies in Kazan as part of the business program. Representatives of Russia’s active regions in terms of cinematography will come to us: Moscow, Bashkortostan, Yakutia, Buryatia, Chechnya, as well as the Rostov Region and St. Petersburg. Among others, representatives of TV channels and online cinemas are invited to the film forum. In fact, it is a business fair where the subject of presentation is film production. Our goal is to create a catalogue of regional films, with the help of which any cinema with its own program would be able to take films for distribution’, Aituganova said.
Another innovation will be international pitching, for which 24 applications have already been submitted. This format of interaction will make it possible not only to support the best works, but also to stimulate filmmaking and increase Tatarstan’s recognition in this sphere.
‘We have experience in holding such an event in 2019. One product has already reached the audience – this is ‘Sumbul’, a co-production of Tatarstan and Uzbekistan. Another film, ‘Tarlan’, based on the work by Galimzhan Ibragimov, is in production. To date the campaign of Pitching-2021 has received 24 applications from Italy, France, the USA, China, Azerbaijan, as well as some Russian regions. Based on the results of the event, we are planning to create a co-production of Tatarstan with other regions and countries in the future’.
It is worth noting that based on the results of the performances, the expert council determines the winners of the pitching and gives them certificates and prizes. The amount of remuneration to the winner is 500 000 rubles. The prizes may also include project producing, support in the implementation of film projects, free provision or discounts on various types of services in the field of cinematography, valuable prizes and others.
Opening the veil of competition and out-of-competition programs, Gulnara Abikeeva, Chairperson of the Selection Commission of the XVII Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, admired Tatarstan cinematography and high level of competitive works. ‘I am glad to be involved in this film festival and to finally get acquainted with your films. Some films in the competition program tell not only about Tatar culture and values: they would also resonate in Kazakhstan and many other Turkic countries. It is often impossible to judge the cinematography of a region or a country as a whole by a single film. But in this case all Tatar films included in the main program are really strong’, Abikeeva concluded.
It is also worth noting the fact that a separate block will be presented by the Cinema from Afghanistan film program.
We would like to remind that the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival is held with the support of President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov in partnership with the Strategic Vision Group ‘Russia – Islamic World’.
The festival has been held in Kazan since 2005. It is organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, the City Hall of Kazan and the Council of Muftis of the Russian Federation. The festival program selects films of Russian and international cinematography that call for tolerance, peace and justice (regardless of an author’s religious beliefs). The motto of the forum is ‘Through the Dialogue of Cultures to the Culture of Dialogues’. The Muslim Film Festival’s competition program comprises 5 nominations: feature-length films, short-length films, full-length documentaries, short-length documentaries and the nomination established to support Tatarstan filmmakers in 2017 – the national competition.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina