International debut film festival "Spirit of Fire" is an annual international competitive festival of debut feature films. The festival has been held annually in February-March, in Khanty-Mansiysk since 2002. But the pandemic has made adjustments to the timing of all international events.
The 19th Spirit of Fire Film Festival will be held from 19 to 24 August 2021.
Representatives from over 20 countries take part in the festival every year, and at least 170 film screenings are organised. The Russian film director, screenwriter, teacher, and Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation, Sergei Solovyov, is the permanent director and president of the festival.
A dominant theme is determined for each festival. For example, in 2019 it was the theme of film and theatre, in 2020 the theme of children's and young people's cinema. In 2021, the theme is Film Classics.
The aims and objectives of the festival are to attract a mass audience to cinemas, to integrate domestic cinema into the global cinematographic process, and to help discover new talents in cinematography, develop cinematographic training and the film industry.
In November 2020, the selection committee began accepting applications for the festival's competition programme in the main, international competition, accepting entries. Filmmakers are invited to take part in the competition programme. An additional call for entries has been specifically announced for those filmmakers who are unable to complete their work in 2020 due to the pandemic, from 1 May to 20 June 2021. Applications and debuts for the international programme should be sent to the Spirit of Fire selection committee's email address .
The competition programme includes films by debutant directors who are directing their own productions for the first time. The festival has gone beyond traditional venues to the online space. Anyone on the planet can take part in the open microfilm and photography competitions, entries are accepted in online format, etc. Entries will be accepted until 14 February 2020. You can send your photos and films to: .
More information about the competitions can be found on the website ugrafest. ru website in the section "Competitions".
In order to support the international and Russian agenda, the Spirit of Fire International Festival announces a special nomination in 2021 - an opening screenplay competition for film projects among the Arctic Council member countries. The winner of the competition will receive a financial prize of 100,000 (one hundred thousand roubles) and the opportunity to present their film at the XX Festival "Spirit of Fire". Submissions are accepted until 20 June 2021. The regulations are available here:
http://www.ugrafest.ru/en/pressroom/news/6139/ (English version).
The Spirit of Fire festival programme is unique. The competition and special screenings always feature directors or leading artists, Russian and world premieres. In different years the festival has hosted Pierre Richard, Catherine Deneuve, Fanny Ardant, Christopher Lambert, Hugh Hudson, Oleg Jankovsky, Alexander Abdulov, Sergei Garmash, Maxim Dunaevsky, Valery Todorovsky, Irina Rozanova, Olga Kabo, Ekaterina Spica, Sergei Garmash, Leonid Yarmolnik and many others.
In 2018, the festival hosted the first Russian screening of the film Dovlatov,
and in 2020 the opening ceremony saw the premiere of Pinocchio, directed by Matteo Garrone.
The cultural programme includes both traditional and pilot projects: creative meetings and master classes with guests of honour and jury members, performances of legendary Russian musicians, the project "Chitalkin "little Kino" (Family Day at the film festival), seminars, online lectures, exhibitions, performances and much more. A rich excursion programme to the museums of Khanty-Mansiysk (Museum of Nature and Man, Museum of Oil and Gas Geology, State Art Museum) is offered during the stay.
A traditional film roadshow with film crews is organised in the towns of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra. Films are screened at 80 film locations across the Okrug.
In order to provide information coverage of the programme of the 19th International Debut Film Festival "Spirit of Fire", the Festival's Executive Directorate has the possibility of organising a press tour for media covering the event. Funding is planned to cover the logistics of the film crews: flight, accommodation and meals.