MINSK, 31 October (BelTA) - The 31st Minsk International Film Festival Listapad will be held in Belarus from 31 October to 7 November under the slogan History Shifting Perspectives.
The festival received over 3,600 applications from 120 countries, with 157 films from 41 countries being selected. Listapad will feature works from Russia, China, India, Iran, and Pakistan, as well as from European countries. This year marks the first-time participation of representatives from Vietnam and the Philippines.
The film festival will feature eight competition categories. These include competitions for feature films, non-fiction films, animation films, films for children and youth audience (Listapadzik), Cinema of the Young, a national film schools competition, and a national competition. This year, a short film competition has been added following proposals from the Belarusian Union of Cinematographers and the wider film community.
The program will feature National Cinema Days for member and observer states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Furthermore, an extensive out-of-competition program will include screenings of films that were award-winners at the festival in previous years, as well as those that have won the Grand Prix at Cannes, Venice, and San Sebastian.
The festival will host several major premieres. Minsk will see the first screening of the historical drama Tamerlane Rise of the Last Conqueror by American director Jacob Schwarz. The film tells the story of Amir Timur, one of the Turkic conquerors and the founder of the Timurid Empire. It was produced by an international team and filmed in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Belarusian audiences will also see the film My Grandfather directed by Svyatoslav Vlasov, featuring the People's Artist of Belarus Vladimir Gostyukhin in the lead role. Additionally, the film Nikita by Nikolai Burlyaev and Dmitry Chernetsov, created for the 80th birthday of the famous Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, will be screened in Belarus for the first time.
The festival's opening ceremony will take place in the Palace of the Republic. The opening film will be the debut work of Belarusian director Dmitry Soroka - Turning Point. Before the opening ceremony, guests will be able to meet their favorite actors, directors, jury members, and film crews from the festival's competition entries on the red carpet in the foyer of the Palace of the Republic. An interactive exhibition of Belarusfilm movies of recent years will give everyone a chance to take photos with actors, and feel involved in the filmmaking process.
The festival's closing ceremony will be held on 7 November at the Moskva Cinema.
Film screenings will take place at Minsk cinemas Pobeda, Mir, Tsentralny, Pioner, and Belarus. As is tradition, films will also be shown in regions across Belarus.
Internationally renowned film figures and leading experts will make up the jury of the 31st Minsk International Film Festival.
The organizers of Listapad promise an action-packed program. In addition to the competition and out-of-competition screenings, the festival will feature Open Doors days at the Belarusfilm studio. The program will also feature creative meetings, round tables with film producers and chairs of the Confederation of Cinematographers' Unions, and masterclasses led by film industry professionals.
The first Listapad festival was held in 1994. The film forum was created to unite the best feature and documentary films produced in the post-Soviet space. It debuted under the name Listapad Post-Soviet Film Festival. The early forums featured films from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Over time, the film festival expanded, gained prestige, and in 2003, it officially acquired international status. That year, Minsk showcased films from Poland, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Czechia, the USA, Iran, China, and Japan.
The verdict in the competition was initially delivered by three separate juries: one of filmmakers, one of journalists, and one of viewers. In 1996, a decision was made to elevate the Audience Choice Award to the festival's top prize. Prior to that, all three awards (from filmmakers, journalists, and the audience) were considered equal. Since 2010, the winner has been determined by a professional jury.
The Minsk International Film Festival Listapad has become a cultural brand of Belarus, uniting film professionals and enthusiasts from all over the world. It has been and remains one of the largest and most representative film forums in the post-Soviet space.
Follow us on:
