Irada Ayupova: ‘We need a tribune built on spirituality more than ever’

Сompetition is paid. Out of competition — free

The Muslim film festival, which was first held in 2005, is now again called Altyn Minbar, while the word “Muslim” has disappeared from its name. However, the Council of Muftis of Russia remains among the founders, as well as the Russia — Islamic World Strategic Vision Group. And the clergy representatives occupied a significant part of the seats at the opening. There are many films on this subject in the program.

In total, the festival received 814 applications from 47 countries. A new nomination is animated films (chairman of the board of drectors of the Soyuzmultfilm studio Juliana Slashcheva is a member of the jury). There are 51 competitive films in total — 10 feature films, short films, documentaries, animated films and 11 films in the national competition. They will be shown this weekend in Rodina.

Probably the most long-awaited Tatarstan film is “Mountain of Love” by Salavat Yuzeev, filmed by the texts of his father Ildar Yuzeev. Basically, this is a Moscow project, but our actors participated in it — Rafik Tagirov, Ildus Akhmetzyanov, Bulat Gataullin, Enzhe Karimova, Guzel Minakova, Lilia Sergeeva. The cameraman is Yuzeev's student Jose Carlos Messango de Oliveiro. This story is about how a corporation is going to destroy a mountain near the village of Tallykul, but it has defenders.

The most notable film in the national program is “The Mute Cuckoo” by Rauf Kubaev. It is based on a play by Zulfat Khakim about Soviet and Finnish Tatars who met in 1939. One of the roles is played by the playwright.

And among the animated films, the Iranian film “Lupitu” draws attention to itself about a sanatorium where mentally ill people are treated by learning how to make toys.

To the Kremlin, watch a film

Another 93 films are out of competition. These are, in particular, the Ethnic Program — Malaysian, Arabian, Kazakh, Indian films; the family program Islam in Faces, telling about the heroes such as mufti of the Great Patriotic War era Zainulla Rasulev, The Turkic World, BRICS Countries, as well as The War and Peace: New Territories. Tatarkino, in addition, is going to screen a lot of films from its archives, for example, on the topic of writers and poets of the republic.

Not for the audience, but for specialists, the Kazan State Institute of Culture (KazGIK) hosts an international pitching of film projects, which received more than 400 applications. And Kazan Expo will be the venue for the scientific and practical conference World Cinema Trends.

The festival opened with a red carpet and a rather long evening at the Kazan City Hall. In addition, at the Mir cinema, in the Public Places of the Kazan Kremlin and on the embankment of Kaban Lake, the opening film “In the Arms of the Tree” by Iranian director Babak Khajepasha was screened on 6 September. In general, it is recommended to go these days not only to the Mir cinema, but also to Government Offices — in the evenings to watch a family film.

Also, as part of the festival, the exhibition Hajj. Feelings and Revelations by Saudi Arabian photographer Marwan Amin Fatani has opened in the gallery of the Kul Sharif mosque.

“People have been asking us to do this”

At the town hall, guests were presented with a chak-chak at the entrance. In addition to the participants, it was possible to see just active representatives of the local film industry, like director Ramil Tukhvatullin. “I didn't act anywhere this time, just a star," actress Zulfiya Valeeva introduced herself, showing that she was already being sent photos from the red carpet. There was, as they say, active networking — and now the councilor to the minister of culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, Raisa Safiullina, is already introducing Kyrgyz filmmakers to the local consul.

The evening was led by two vocalists — Anastasia Krylova and Amir Akhmadishin, while Anastasia demonstrated her singing talents. Unexpectedly, returning from the International Tsvetaeva Readings in Yelabuga, Svetlana Kryuchkova stopped by on her way home to St. Petersburg, singing a song from the TV series “Big Change”. In addition, the Chamber Choir of the republic, Syumbel Kiyamova and Milyausha Khairullina, Elmira Kalimullina performed at the evening. The highlight of the evening was the performance of the song “Kitme, sandugach” by Zhang Zhihao, a student of the Kazan Conservatory.

But there were also a lot of speeches at the opening.

“I am extremely glad that the old or former name has returned again — Altyn Minbar. People have been asking us about this," said the chairman of the State Council of Tatarstan, Farid Mukhametshin.

“The motto of our festival 'From the dialogue of cultures to the culture of dialogue' reflects the main essence of our spectacle. We must show the world the ability to build a dialogue of cultures in a rapidly changing world," explained Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Irada Ayupova in more detail, also touching on the topic of changing the name. “More than ever, we need a platform built on spirituality. Minbar is the platform that allows us, through cinema, through culture, to broadcast the most important message to humanity. Altyn is gold. The true value of our civilisation is not money. And gold is not used in this sense. Altyn Minbar is a platform from which spiritual values are broadcast.

Also at the opening, the results of the Cinema in 7 Days project were summed up: Russia took the third place and got 200 thousand (“I Love You” by Ilya Severov), Brazil took the second and 300 thousand (“Animals” by Rodrigo de Medeiros), and Iran took the first and half a million (“Cities Change, But People Don't” by Ata Mozhabi). Irada Ayupova assured that next year we would see the film almanac at the box office.