Ildar Yagafarov: ‘There should be another secular film festival in such a big secular city’
The first film festival of regional cinema of Russia Soyuz has opened in Kazan
The first film festival of regional cinema of Russia Soyuz is held in Kazan from November 19 to 21. It is organised by the Union of Cinematographers of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Kazan State Institute of Culture, on the basis of which the screenings take place. On one site, viewers will see works from Yakutia, Buryatia, Primorsky Krai, the Arctic, shot by famous directors such as Boris Khlebnikov, Ivan Sosnin, Alexander Khant, which are almost impossible to see in a wide box office. Tatarstan is represented by Ilshat Rakhimbai with the film “Mikulai”. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
“Films that are not limited by politics or religion”
The opening film of the first film festival of the regional cinema of Russia Soyuz was the documentary by Maxim Fadeev and Sergey Belous “At the Edge of the Abyss”. The film was screened out of competition.
Nine feature films representing different regions of Russia will compete for the main prize — the Grand Prix of the film festival. This was told by the founder of the Soyuz Film Festival, Chairman of the Union of Cinematographers of the Republic of Tatarstan Ildar Yagafarov:
“There are a lot of festivals in Russia and this is good. It is here that people see auteur films which rarely make it to wide release. The concept of our festival is to showcase films by participants and members of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia. They are all professionals. They film in various regions — from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. I would like to unite these people.
“Organising such a large-scale event is not an easy task. The festival is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, Union of Cinematographers of Russia. This is our first experience. We are grateful to the Institute of Culture for their support. The main thing is that there is a result. The festival has been established. I am very happy about this. I think it should be made annual. Because in Kazan, in such a big secular city, there should be another secular film festival where bold bright pictures can be shown, not limited by politics, religion, or anything else," the director expressed confidence.
The winner of the Grand Prix will get a commemorative badge of the festival. In the future, the organisers plan to make a statuette.
“The festival's concept also includes signing contracts with the filmmakers whose works are selected for the competition. They will receive 100,000 rubles for participation. I've been to festivals a lot myself and I think it's very important. I think people get tired of going to festivals just for no reason. It should be justified why they are going there," Yagafarov explained.
“Russian cinema should be watched”
The jury of the festival consists of four people. These are Chairman of the North Ossetian Union of Cinematographers Indira Cherdzhieva, Chairman of the Sverdlovsk Union of Cinematographers Pavel Kulikov and Yakut film director Lyubov Borisova.
The chairman of the jury is Mikhail Kalinin, the organising secretary of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia. According to him, the Soyuz Film Festival combines two priority areas of the organisation — regional policy and youth.
“The films that we will evaluate are quite complex and different. We have a difficult task ahead of us. A few years ago, there was a tendency to reduce the number of film festivals, but, thank God, festivals continue to be born. I think this is absolutely correct. Otherwise, how will people get to see such films? Russian cinema is being made, it needs to be watched, in recent years domestic cinema has become much better," Kalinin summed up.
Ilshat Rakhimbai, the director of the film “Mikulai”, which was widely released in 2023, noted that he was attracted by the festival programme.
“Those who understand the level of films and directors can accurately understand what a strong program is presented here. And the fact that now the festival is taking place without much scope within the walls of the Institute of Culture (as they say, people are not fed black caviar) does not really mean anything. The festival is not made for caviar, but for the essence, the content. From this point of view, I think he can be considered the strongest in Kazan. When I saw the program and Ildar Yagafarov told me that it was time to show Mikulai in Kazan as part of the festival, I decided to participate," said the Tatarstan director.
“The game of the world has turned upside down”
As for the new works, Ilshat Rakhimbai admitted that he is currently working not on a certain painting, but on his own inner world. “Any film is just a reflection of your inner state," he said.
“Now I am very interested in current social issues — the black side of today. It's like a black mirror, people's addiction. Now the game of the world has turned upside down — angels have become demons, demons have become angels. And somehow people believed that the profession of a “star” is more important than the profession of the person who feeds them. There was a revolution in consciousness. People are willing to kiss the feet of “stars” rather than people who really affect life. I want to slap you in the face and say “Wake up!” with my creativity. This word has always been important to me. It seems to me that in our time, when the world is just going crazy, such a slap in the face is necessary," the director said.
The Soyuz Regional Film Festival will be held in six nominations: Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Director's Work, Best Male Role, Best Female Role, Best Producer, as well as the prize of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Grand Prix of the Soyuz Festival.