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- In short: the jury's decision surprised the audience of the Kaliningrad Film Festival
In short: the jury's decision surprised the audience of the Kaliningrad Film Festival
Kaliningrad summed up the results of the XIV International Film Festival "Shorter", which this year officially secured its international status and brought together authors from five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Iran. The main awards of two key contests — full—length debuts and short meter - were unexpectedly brought together by the theme of paradoxical, tragicomic human relationships in which the characters try to cope with life's challenges with the help of irony and ingenuity. Who was marked by the jury is in the Izvestia article.
What was shown at the Shorter Festival
Traditionally, at the end of August Kaliningrad hosts the participants of the short film festival "Shorter". This time it was held from 18 to 23 August. The competition program was shown at the Drama Theater and in the cinema hall of the Kaliningrad branch of the Tretyakov Gallery. Registration for the sessions ended in just a couple of days. The films were watched to a full house.
This year, the organizers have received about two thousand applications from aspiring authors, students and newcomers who want to present their work to the professional community. The final program included 28 projects. Interestingly, there were 15 women among the directors. Eight films participated in the full-meter debut competition, and half of them were also directed by women directors.
— If tomorrow there are not two thousand applications, but twenty, I will close the festival and realize that I cannot continue to help, — said the chairman of the organizing committee of "Shorter", producer Anton Kalinkin. — Now the authors are voting [for our festival] with their participation and desire to get into the competition.
The work of the participants was evaluated by the jury, which included recognized masters of the film industry. The short film was watched by actress Daria Moroz, director Klim Kozinsky, producer Ivan Yakovenko and screenwriter Andrey Lipov. The jury of the feature debut competition included directors Anna Melikyan, Yuri Bykov, Janik Fayziev, producer Sayera Khudaiberdieva and actress Victoria Isakova, who, among other things, presented her first production project at the screening. Her lyrical comedy "The Incredible Tatiana Viktorovna" opened the festival. Isakova played the main role, and her 11-year-old daughter Varvara made her debut in the frame. The work on the film was started by the actress' husband Yuri Moroz, he died last year, and as a result, the film was completed by director Alexei Kokorin.
The jury of the full-length debuts competition of the festival "Shorter": Yuri Bykov, Victoria Isakova, Anna Melikyan, Sayera Khudaiberdieva, Janik Fayziev
The program of the festival is constantly being improved, while maintaining its uniqueness. The multigenreality of the short films is amazing — this year dramedies, comedies, detective stories, science fiction, fairy tales, animation, silent films and even horror were presented on the screens. The absolute record holder of "Shorter" in terms of the number of films in the screening program was actress Olga Lapshina, whom four directors wanted to see in their works at once.
Death suits them
The main prize in the feature debut competition was won by the film "Life after Death" directed by Artyom Dubra starring Vitaly Muratov and Olga Lapshina. The story about a young man, Tolya, who, after losing his mother, takes over the entire funeral ceremony for the sake of a less stress-resistant grandmother, provoked a polar reaction from the audience. Some of the audience were shocked by the tragic humor, while others cried and thanked the authors for a kind of "memorial to the funeral" — from the morgue to the wake.
A shot from the movie "Life after Death"
The award for faith in the human heart was presented to Grigory Kalinin for the film "80 beats per minute". Anastasia Kuzina won the prize for fidelity to the traditions of auteur cinema with the film "Bo Bo", the special prize "Shorter. Stars" went to David Sokratyan for "Overnight", and Marina Kaletskaya received a diploma for privacy and chemistry in the frame for the project "Friend".
The prize for the best film in the short film competition was awarded to Arseniy Kasperovich for the film "Acoustics". This is a story about a guy who tries to win back the love of a cashier from a nearby store with the help of an impromptu performance, in which a classmate helps him. The main role of the debutant was played by theater and film star Maria Smolnikova.
A frame from the movie "Acoustics"
Fereshteh Amani was recognized as the best director of a short film for the Russian-Iranian project "Cold Shower", and Semyon Shomin, an artist of the Sovremennik Theater, took the award for the best screenplay for the film "Aloha!". In it, he acted as both a playwright and a director, persuading the sought-after Timofey Tribuntsev to play the main role. The prize for the best cinematography went to Elizaveta Zbritskaya for the film "DJ Mulka".
A shot from the movie "Aloha!"
A special prize "For an honest young conversation" was awarded to the short film "The Grip" by Nastya Ivashchenko.
International status
In 2026, the event officially received the status of an international event for the first time, bringing together Russian-speaking authors from five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Iran. According to the organizers, the main goal of the festival is to create a platform for the exchange of experience between young directors, producers and representatives of the film industry from different countries, and special attention is paid to the development of co—production projects.
A shot from the movie "How we saw off grandfather"
A striking example of successful cooperation was the Russian-Iranian project "Cold Shower" directed by Fereshteh Amani. The creator of the film has a lot to do with Russia: Fereshte studied in the workshop of Alexei Popogrebsky and Pavel Bardin at the Moscow Film School, worked as a translator, and is now writing a full-length script about the life of a migrant based on personal experience.
A shot from the movie "Cold Shower"
The absolute novelty of the festival was the unique casting platform, thanks to which the artists had a chance to get into the databases of foreign casting directors. Representatives of the film industry from China, India, Vietnam, Turkey and Serbia conducted professional interviews with 120 actors, including Artem Tkachenko, Alexey Zolotovitsky, Grigory Vernik, Timur Rodriguez, Katya Kabak, Daria Ekamasova, Yanina Studilina, Mark Bogatyrev and Anna Churina.
"Due to the huge genre diversity of Chinese cinema, very high requirements are placed on casting — it is important to accurately match the appearance, type and the actor himself to the character," said Misha Hou, casting director and producer from China. — At the same time, we definitely study the background and reputation of the artist.: A serious public scandal could jeopardize not only his career, but also the fate of the entire project.
The Shorter Festival continues to fulfill its main mission — to discover new names in Russian cinema and help young talents realize their creative potential, while remaining true to its concept and principles.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
