16th Kazan Film Festival will be Held in a Closed Format

The 16^th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival will be held in a technical mode and will be closed to the public. This decision was made by the founders and organizers of the festival to ensure the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. All technical works of the festival will be conducted according to the rules and regulations. The names of the winners will be announced in early September 2020.

The entries submission to the festival was closed on June 1, 2020. The Organizing Committee of the festival has registered 629 films from 63 countries. The Selection Committee, chaired by Sergei Anashkin, a Russian film critic, formed a competition shortlist, which includes 52 films. The competition program is available on the official website of the Kazan Muslim Film Festival.

According to Anashkin, some innovations were used in the formation of the main competition program. For example, for the first time, the principle of premiership was introduced for foreign feature films: none of the selected films had previously been screened in Russia. ‘The program is anchored by cross-cutting themes, as cultural identity and intercultural dialogue. The program of the festival also reflects the current global trend: more and more female directors are coming to the forefront. Of the 12 feature films selected for the competition, four were created by women’, commented Anashkin.

Currently, the jury members have started the evaluation process. Final discussions and jury sessions will be held remotely. The winners will be announced in early September. The list of winners will be available on the official website of the Kazan Muslim Film Festival. No offline events will take place in 2020.

‘It is a great regret that we have to hold the 16^th edition of the Kazan Muslim Film Festival in closed mode’, commented Milyausha Aytuganova, the Director of Tatarkino. ‘Many international events are now canceled, and it is a reality that we have to adapt to. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the international filmmakers’ society, to all directors and producers, who submitted their entries to the festival. We will definitely bring the work started this year to its logical end. Please follow the publications on our official website, where all relevant information appears’.

Since 2005 Kazan Muslim Film Festival is one of the largest film forums in Russia held annually in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The festival focuses on Russian and international films promoting the ideas of peacebuilding, intercultural dialogue, and tolerance regardless of their religious affiliations. The concept of the festival is reflected through its official motto ‘Through the dialogue of cultures to the culture of dialogue’.