12 projects selected for the short-list of “Altyn minbar” International pitching

The shortlist of international film projects for the XX “Altyn Minbar” the Kazan International Film Festival is announced. It includes 12 projects from seven countries. The public presentation and defense will be held on September 8 at the Kazan State Institute of Culture.

The organization committee received 107 applications from 30 countries. Filmmakers from Türkiye, Egypt, India, Korea, Bulgaria, Greece, the USA, France, Iran, India, and other countries wish to cooperate with Tatarstan.

“This year we are having the fifth international pitching of film projects. From year to year, the geography expands. The first pitching was held in 2019, in which projects from Tatarstan Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, and Nepal were presented. This year’s shortlist shows a great variety of Russian regions, the CIS, and foreign countries, which demonstrates the unconditional interest of various filmmakers in making joint cinematic projects with the Republic of Tatarstan, according to Alexandra Latysheva, the coordinator of the international pitching.

Alexandra Latysheva also noted that there is a focus on the social aspect of life. Eternal issues such as the contradiction between evil and good, issues of fathers and sons, loneliness crises, moral choice, crime, and atonement for sins are touched upon.

“A number of films tell about the coexistence of various cultures and nationalities; some of them reveal relationships between people in military conflicts conditions in different countries; also, some of them have mystical and fantastic plot”, she added.

It is interesting to note that the age range of the submitted authors varies from 15 to 67.

We remind you that international pitching is a part of the business program of “Altyn minbar” and implies a public defense of film projects – screenplays, script applications, or synopses—before an international expert council.

Co-production with Tatarstan is mandatory for pitching: filming must involve the participation of Tatarstan cinematographers or take place on the territory of the republic. Thus, pitching stimulates the development of joint film production with Tatarstan in the regions of Russia, including with the participation of foreign countries.

Two feature films, Tarlan (based on the novel by Galimjan Ibrahimov) and Sumbul (based on Zifa Kadyrova’s You’ll Miss but won’t Find Me There), are the results of the “Altyn minbar” pitchings. Tarlan was co-produced with Kazakhstan, and Sumbul Film was co-produced with Uzbekistan.

Currently, two projects are in progress. The first one, directed by Alexander Shirmanov, is a documentary about Alexander Rodchenko, one of the founders of constructivism, design and advertising in the USSR. He spent 15 years of his life in Kazan. The second one is Julia Zakharova’s international comedy Flat No. 7.

The XX “Altyn minbar” Kazan International Film Festival will be held in Kazan from September 6 to 11, 2024.