MINSK, 1 November (BelTA) – The Minsk International Film Festival Listapad is a window to the world for spectators, Listapad's program director Igor Sukmanov told journalists, BelTA has learned.
“We believe that Listapad is a window to the world,” Igor Sukmanov said. “The festival will surprise with films, directors as it features participants from a lot of countries,” he added.
According to him, it is getting more difficult to maintain high standards from year to year. “Our festival is not a local event anymore, it has carried the international status for ten years. The festival got permanent accreditation at the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. The event is meant not only to show films, but also to develop the film industry and organize events that would connect the West, the East, and Belarus,” he noted.
Film festivals face strong competition, Igor Sukmanov stressed. “We are happy that our festival draws visitors from all over the world. However, we need additional financial support if we want to go big,” he added.
The 26th Minsk International Film Festival Listapad is running on 1-8 November 2019 under the slogan “To Joy”. The program of this year's festival includes 154 films from 50 countries. It will feature films from Sudan and Senegal for the first time. The festival opened on 1 November with Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov's film Father that has already received prizes of other international film festivals.
The film competition includes four sections: the feature film competition (the main event and the Youth on the March competition), the documentary film competition (the main event and the national film schools competition), the children and youth film competition Listapadzik, and the national competition that includes feature films, documentaries, and animation films.
The feature film competition will feature 12 films, including Valentin Vasyanovych's film Atlantis from Ukraine that was one of the main sensations of the last Venice Film Festival. The Youth on the March competition will also include 12 films, and the documentary film competition will show 13 films.
The national competition of the Listapad film festival will be running on 5-7 November. The jury will include Belarusian documentary filmmaker Olga Dashuk, Swedish producer and programmer of Gothenburg Film Festival Freddy Ollson. Polish Film director Krzysztof Zanussi will head the jury.
All six animation films of the festival were made at the Belarusfilm film studio. They include fairytales for children and stories for adults that touch upon Belarusian and international culture. Screenings of animation films will be hosted by the Pioner movie theater. The feature film competition will show five films, eight more films will be presented as part of the Listapadzik competition on 2-5 November.
The Listapad film festival also runs non-competitive programs. The Belarusian Panorama program will feature four short films. Six sections of the non-competitive feature film program are titled Special Screenings, Master Class, Lions Bears Golden Palms, Night Passions, Once Upon A Time in the East, and Russian Premieres. These sections encompass 20 films shot in Canada, Belarus, the Philippines, France, China, Japan, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Russia and other countries.
The non-competitive documentary film program includes 26 films divided into 8 sections: Laureates of Festivals, My Family and Other Animals, About Love, Polish Documentary Cinema Night, Films About the Cinema, MusicDoc, Historical Chronicles, and Film Archive. Films That Could Have Never Been Shot.
The festival will also include a program that unites feature films and documentaries. The sections Artstream, 5 Mins to Oscar, Women's Stories, and Cinema Language: Another Sytax will show 21 films.
The Bel:Cinema Industry platform will also be held within the framework of the festival. Events of the platform are designed to help representatives of the film industry exchange best practices and establish ties. On 7 November, the platform will feature Virtual Reality Day.
The festival was established by the Belarusian Culture Ministry, the Minsk City Hall. The ART Corporation center of visual and performing arts is the organizer of the event.
