The International Documentary Film Festival SiberiaDOC has started in Krasnoyarsk / News from the society of Krasnoyarsk and the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Newslab.Ru

On November 28, the grand opening of the III International Documentary Film Festival SiberiaDOC took place in the Great Hall of the House of Cinema. The ceremony was attended by directors, jury members and festival guests.

This year the festival received more than 500 applications from 55 countries. The program included 37 films from 15 countries – from Canada to Chile, from the Netherlands to Iran. Viewers can expect Russian premieres and six world premieres.

“Our team tried very hard and prepared many surprises for you. The festival is growing,” said festival director Nikolai Bem. — This year we have new venues: not only the House of Cinema, but also Cinema Park and the Kvadrat creative cluster. I’m especially glad that there are many films from Siberia. I would like to draw special attention to the fact that after each screening a discussion is scheduled with the creators of the films or the festival selectors. You will be able to ask questions to the directors, understand their intentions, and learn about the creative process. Documentary cinema is, first of all, about experience, and your response, your opinion about each film is important to us.”

“When applications open, you don’t yet know the mood of the festival. It comes together gradually, like a puzzle. This year, all three competition programs open new doors to the documentary film genre. Directors experiment with forms, applying feature film genres to documentary stories. We have melodramas, social comedies, parable films, and detective thrillers. Behind every film out of all 37 there is someone’s voice, there is a person, there are someone’s burning eyes. These are the people who chose the films, noticed them, suggested them to the program, and now we can watch them here,” noted Kristina Daurova, program director of the festival.

The opening film of the program was the Czech film “Resilience” directed by Tomas Elsik – a detective thriller about the deep connection of a person with everything living on the planet. Before the start of the screening, the audience was greeted by the author of the film.

The jury of the international competition of the Festival included: director Alexey Vakhrushev, sound engineer Nelly Tyunina and producer Azat Khakimov. The short film and the Russian program are evaluated by director Olga Averkieva, producer Konstantin Nafikov and art critic Andrei Sokulsky. For the first time, a spectator jury of Krasnoyarsk professionals was introduced: director of the House of Cinema Larisa Antropova, photographer Alexander Kuptsov, creative producer Pavel Stabrov, film blogger Maria Kozlova and film expert Maxim Konarev.

The festival presented new prizes – tactile “Branches” figurines made from Siberian poplar by Krasnoyarsk master Boris Potreba. The name is symbolic: in Scandinavian languages, “branches” means “boats”.

The festival is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. This year’s partners were: the Prima TV channel, the Prima City website, the Krasnoyarsk Main radio, the Session magazine, the Culture24 portal, the Newslab news agency and the Provincial Filmmaker community. A significant contribution to the organization is made by the Siberian Federal University (SFU) and its scientific and educational center “Institute of Film Industry”. Among the friends of the festival are the regional state autonomous cultural institution “Yenisei Cinema”, the Novotel Krasnoyarsk Center hotel and the Knedlík bar.

Until December 7, Krasnoyarsk residents will be able to see the best documentary works of the year, communicate with directors and become part of a unique cultural event.

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