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Message to Man International Film Festival (, ''Poslaniye k Chelovyeku'') is an international competitive documentary, short and animated film festival held annually in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, Russia. It's the oldest film festival in St. Petersburg and one of the three oldest film festivals in Russia. Message to Man originated in the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1988 as a
biennale In the art world, a biennale ( , ; ), is a large-scale international contemporary art exhibition. The term was popularised by the Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895, but the concept of such a large scale, and intentionally internationa ...
documentary film festival. The organising committee was headed by the chairman of the Leningrad Executive Committee. Since its foundation, the festival has received financial and organisational support from the Russian (formerly USSR) State Cinematography Committee, the Russian Ministry of Culture and its cinema department, and the St. Petersburg Government and its Committee for Culture. Recently this list has been supplemented by the Federal Foundation for the Social and Economic Support of National Cinematography. The festival has received accreditation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), France. The name of the festival is a reference to the universal humanist values promoted in
the Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
. The emblem of the festival and its prize is based on The Infant Centaur, a drawing by Nadya Rusheva.


History and concept

The festival was created in accordance with Resolution No. 29 of the USSR Council of Ministers, dated 16 January 1989:
"The USSR State Committee for Cinematography, the USSR State Committee for Radio Broadcasting and Television and the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR organize the Leningrad International Film Festival of Non-Fiction Cinema Message to Man... in order to promote contacts and exchange of ideas between cinematographers from different countries who develop in their work the themes of goodness, social justice and peace."
It was founded by Mikhail Litvyakov, who is now the Honorary President of the Festival. Since 2010, Alexey Uchitel, director of documentary and feature films, People's Artist of Russia, is the President of the Festival.


Programmes

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
• Full-length documentary films (from 40 to 120 minutes) • Short documentary films (up to 40 minutes) • Short and animated films (no longer than 30 minutes) NATIONAL COMPETITION OF DOCUMENTARY FILMS
• Documentary films (no longer than 120 minutes) IN SILICO INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF EXPERIMENTAL FILMS
• Short experimental films (no longer than 15 minutes) SPECIAL PROGRAMMES
Special programmes are established and compiled by the Organising Committee of the Festival. The number of special programmes for each year is determined based on the Festival's current needs and capabilities. As part of the film festival, various exhibitions, theatrical and musical performances, meetings, and workshops which provide an opportunity to screen feature films outside the competitions, as well as other cultural events that are an integral part of the Festival's programme are held. OPENING AND CLOSING FILMS
At one time, the opening and closing movies were: The Apprentice,
All We Imagine as Light ''All We Imagine as Light'' (Malayalam: പ്രഭയായ് നിനച്ചതെല്ലം) is a 2024 drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Payal Kapadia (filmmaker), Payal Kapadia. The cast includes Kani Kusr ...
, The Book of Solutions, Vacation, Grand Marin, Big Snakes of Ulli-Kale, Balabanov. Belltower. Requiem, Everything Went Fine, Playback, Final Cut – Ladies & Gentlemen,
Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
, Aquarela,
Man with a Movie Camera ''Man with a Movie Camera'' is an experimental 1929 Soviet silent documentary film, directed by Dziga Vertov, filmed by his brother Mikhail Kaufman, and edited by Vertov's wife Yelizaveta Svilova. Kaufman also appears as the titular Man. V ...
, A Gentle Creature, Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, The Unknown Girl,
Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
, Francofonia, Two Days, One Night, The Salt of the Earth, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker,
The Dance of Reality ''The Dance of Reality'' () is a 2013 Chilean- French semi-autobiographical musical fantasy drama film written, produced, and directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, starring Brontis Jodorowsky, Pamela Flores, and Jeremias Herskovits. It is Alejandro ...
, The Traitor, etc.


Guests and participants

Over the years, the following filmmakers, philosophers, actors and journalists have participated or served as members of the jury:
Agnes Varda Agnes or Agness may refer to: People *Agnes (name), the given name, and a list of people named Agnes or Agness * Agnes (surname), list of people with the surname * Agnes (case study) (born 1939), pseudonym for one of the first studied transgender ...
,
Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Known for her portrayals of cold, austere women devoid of morality, she is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation. With 16 nominations and two win ...
,
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...
,
Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица, ; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, film producer and musician. Kusturica has been an active filmmaker since the 1980s. He has competed at the Cannes ...
,
Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial ...
,
Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; ; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. He is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers of Italian cinema working today. He is known for visually striking and complex dramas and has of ...
,
Sergei Loznitsa Sergei Vladimirovich Loznitsa (born 5 September 1964) or Serhii Volodymyrovych Loznytsia, is a Ukrainian director of Belarusian origin known for his documentary as well as dramatic films. Biography Loznitsa was born on 5 September 1964 in the ...
,
Alexander Rogozhkin Aleksandr Vladimirovich Rogozhkin (; 3 October 1949 – 23 October 2021) was a Russian film director and writer. Career In 1990, Rogozhkin directed ''The Guard (1990 film), Karaul'', which won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the 40th Berlin Internat ...
, Konstantin Bronzit, Sergei Dvortsevoy,
Alexander Rodnyansky Alexander Yefimovych Rodnyansky (, ; born July 2, 1961) is a Ukrainian film director, film producer, television executive and businessman. As a media-manager Rodnyansky founded the first Ukrainian independent television network 1+1 and ran Russia ...
, Pavel Kostomarov,
Kira Muratova Kira Georgievna Muratova (; ; ; née Korotkova, 5 November 1934 – 6 June 2018) was a Ukrainian
,
Alexander Sokurov Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov, PAR (; born 14 June 1951) is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a feature film, ''Russian Ark'' (2002), filmed in a single unedited shot, and ''Faust'' (2011), which was honoured with the G ...
,
Victor Kossakovsky Viktor Kossakovsky (; born 19 July 1961) is a Russian documentary filmmaker. Early life Kossakovsky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the time Leningrad, U.S.S.R. He began his film career in 1978, working as an assistant cameraman, assis ...
,
Erwin Leiser Erwin Leiser (May 16, 1923 – August 22, 1996) was a Swedish director, writer, and actor. He is best known for his 1960 documentary film ''Mein Kampf'', based on Nazi footage from secret archives and depicting Nazi atrocities. He subsequently ...
,
Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors, such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Michelangelo Antonioni, Theo Angelopoulos, and Fede ...
,
Merab Mamardashvili Merab Mamardashvili ( ka, მერაბ მამარდაშვილი; September 15, 1930 – November 25, 1990) was a Georgian philosopher. Biography He was born in Gori (Eastern Georgia). In 1955, he graduated from the Faculty of ...
,
Ulrich Seidl Ulrich Maria Seidl (born 24 November 1952) is an Austrian film director, writer and producer. Among other awards, his film ''Dog Days'' won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice in 2001. His 2012 film '' Paradise: Love'' competed for the Palme d'Or at ...
,
Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is primarily about exploring American institutions. In 2017, ''The New York Times'' called him "one of the most important and origina ...
,
Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. He has amassed more than 700 film and television credits since his debut in 1978, making him one of the most prolific English-speaking screen actors of all time. Roberts' career ...
,
Claude Lanzmann Claude Lanzmann (; 27 November 1925 – 5 July 2018) was a French filmmaker, best known for the Holocaust documentary film ''Shoah'' (1985), which consists of nine and a half hours of oral testimony from Holocaust survivors, without historical f ...
,
Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumière Award. Early life Ardant was born on 22 March 1949, in Saumur, ...
,
Zbigniew Rybczyński Zbigniew Rybczyński (; born 27 January 1949) is a Polish filmmaker, director, cinematographer, screenwriter, creator of experimental animated films, and multimedia artist who has won numerous prestigious industry awards both in the United Stat ...
, Ulrich Gregor,
Vadim Abdrashitov Vadim Yusupovich Abdrashitov (, ; 19 January 1945 – 12 February 2023) was a Russian film director. He was internationally renowned as one of Russian cinema's most notable independent director (film), directors, with awards from the Berlin Inte ...
, Leo Hurwicz and many others. The arrival of 98-year-old Leni Riefenstahl during the 11th festival (2001) became a real sensation. She participated in the special program Documentary Cinema in Totalitarian States (screenings of her films and
Dziga Vertov Dziga Vertov (born David Abelevich Kaufman; – 12 February 1954) was a Soviet pioneer documentary film and newsreel director, as well as a cinema theorist. His filming practices and theories influenced the cinéma vérité style of documentary ...
's pictures). The visit gave rise to heated debates in society: some screenings were cancelled, but Message to Man IFF stand strong and defended the most crucial one — in Dom Kino cinema center, one of the most important point of attraction of all cinephiles in St. Petersburg.


Winners of the Golden Centaur Grand Prix


References


External links

* Animation film festivals Culture in Saint Petersburg Documentary film festivals in Russia Film festivals established in 1988 1988 establishments in Russia Film festivals in Russia Short film festivals in Europe {{Europe-film-festival-stub