III International Motivational Film and Sport Festival BRIDGE of ARTS, which will take place at Rostov-on-Don from 23 till 27 August 2017, announced full-length films competition program. The program consists of films produced only in 2017. Filmmakers out of 11 countries will compete for the main prize.

Main competition program includes 10 films produced in 2017, 6 of them will be screened in Russia for the first time. Two Russian films and those produced in France, Slovakia (co-production), Czech Republic, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Iran and Japan constitute the program.

«Films differ from each other in their storytelling, genre and director’s vision, but all of them make up a complex pattern of a kaleidoscope symbolizing modern outlook on life, people’s self-identification, expectations of miracles and ways of achieving their goals. Italian senior citizens, a German lad and a Russian women’s facility guard inspire viewers not to give up and to live up to the hilt. The power for creation is always within ourselves and the film selection is aimed to remind viewers about it and motivate them», – Elena Larionova, program director of BRIDGE of ARTS stated.

Competition screenings will take place on 24-27 August. Roger Christian (Canada), director, scriptwriter, producer and set decorator, will preside over the main competition jury. Director Milcho Manchevski (Macedonia, USA), actress Maria Golubkina (Russia), producers Nick Powell (United Kingdom) and Massimo Cristaldi (Italy) will be jurors.

During the festival, the stars of world and Russian cinema will visit Rostov-on-don: French actors Samy Naceri ("Taxi", "Taxi 2", "Taxi 3", "Patriots", "Free fall", "Regret") and Salim ("Adele’s Life ", "Criminal lovers", etc.), Oleg Taktarov, Kirill Pletnev, Elena Zakharova, Fedor Dobronravov, Agniya Kuznetsova, Maria Golubkina, Evklid Kyurdzidis, Irina Bezrukova, Dmitry Dibrov and others.

Besides the main competition III International Motivational Film and Sport Festival BRIDGE of ARTS will feature two more competition programs: Short Film Competition and Travel and Tourism Film Competition «Russia Inspires!». Non-competition screenings are categorized into several programs: «World cinema», «Documentary films» (supported by WWF Russia), «Retro», «Family films», «Short film nights». A five-day festival will include 109 screenings.

Short Film Competition comprises 14 films: 4 from Russia, the rest from Indonesia, Hungary, Jordan, China, Egypt, Israel, France, USA, Japan. 20 films will constitute non-competition program. Detailed program will be announced on 27 July.

Russian National Travel and Tourism Film Competition «Russia Inspires!» will award the best films in the following categories: «Region», «Landmark», «Event», «Impression», «Location» and «Year of Ecology». The selection committee watched over 180 films out of 48 regions of Russia. 36 films out of 28 regions became finalists.

Non-competition Short Film Program is run in partnership with World Wildlife Fund. Viewers will be offered three films produced in 2016-2017. They are depicting vital issues of wild nature protection in France, Russia, Spain-Germany-United Kingdom (joint project). For instance, Russian film «Tigers and Humans» produced by Sergey Yastrzhembsky is selected for VII Environmental Film Festival which will take place in New York on 19-29 October, 2017.

Retro Films Program of 2017 is marked by leading filmmakers – Milcho Manchevski and Roger Christian. Legendary award-winning professionals agreed not only to be jurors but also to motivate and inspire attendees sharing their personal success stories. So, for example, Roger Christian will show his iconic film Nostradamus and Milcho Manchevski will present Before the Rain which is ranked by New York Times as one of 1000 best films ever made. The latter received Oscar nomination in Best Foreign Language Film category and won multiple awards in Venice and got Warsaw IFF prize.

Family Films Program is essential for the festival. It will be accompanied by numerous social events held by BRIDGE of ARTS. Matinees will include four films: Tale About a Magical Pencil (Russia), Angel of the Lord (Czech Republic), animation film Throne of Elves (USA, China) and Retter Raffi! (Germany). The latter is considered one of the best children’s films in Germany and it was selected for about 30 international film festivals.

Non-competition Full-length Program will include best works of 2016-2017 that were not selected into the competition program for various reasons but are really worthy. Many of them will be event films of BRIDGE of ARTS. «World Cinema» program will feature 20 films from Europe, Asia and North America. Some Russian films will be premiered here. For example, world premiere of Romans starring Orlando Bloom took place on 20 July and Rostov will be the first Russian city to screen it. Lumière! by Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival and the Institute Lumière, will be also screened at the festival. Frémaux unique project united 108 restored short films of Auguste and Louis Lumière. Film about a legendary football player Pelè, Berlinale award-winning On Body and Soul (2017) by a famous Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki and The Other Side of Hope will also be a part of the program.

Last Wednesday, 19 July, festival forum organizing committee held a meeting. It was announced that festival programming team had prepared 20 various events, 10 film events and 25 unique screenings. Business forum is an essential constituent of the festival. It will include film economics discussions, BRIDGE of ARTS Film School and a series of pitchings. Hockey match «Healthy nation» and celebrity football game in Azov will be played within the frameworks of sport program. Final festival day will be devoted to a big children’s film event with celebrities’ participation held in Rostov-on-Don and to a beautiful performance «Umbrella morning» honoring legendary Faina Ranevskaya in Taganrog.

 – The festival has excellent development dynamics that is a clear evidence of professional collaboration, deputy chairman of organizing committee BRIDGE of ARTS 2017, deputy governor Igor Guskov said in a statement. Every year the festival is attracting more and more guests and becomes a professional platform for industry-experienced filmmakers. BRIDGE of ARTS promotes Rostov region transformation into a cultural, art and sport center. As previously reported, the festival’s budget equaled 67 million roubles, 10 million come from local budget and the rest come from off-budget sources.

BRIDGE of ARTS 2017 full-length film competition program includes:

White Nights

Russia, 2017

Directors: Tatyana Voronetskaya, Andrey Bogatyrev
Scriptwriters: Vyacheslav Durnenkov, Andrey Bogatyrev, Tatyana Voronetskaya

Producer: Tatayana Voronetskaya
DoP: Sergey Baskoev
Cast: Olga Stashkevich, Dmitry Sergin, Andrey Bogatyrev, Vyacheslav Shihalev, Victor Tihomirov

Film is based on the similarly named novel of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Petersburg alongside with main characters becomes a participant of events. Petersburg streets bring together a humble lonely dreamer and a sophisticated romantic girl. The film shows four white nights of love, Petersburg and Dostoevsky. Everything becomes silent in anticipation of miracle.

Survival Family

Japan, 2017

Director: Shinobu Yaguchi

Scriptwriter: Shinobu Yaguchi

Producers: Takashi Ishihara, Minami Ichikawa, Kiyoshi Nagai

Music: Takashi Nomura

Cast: Wakana Aoi, Masashi Arifuku, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yuki Izumisawa, Eri Fukatsu

At first sight Survival Family joins the chain of apocalyptic narratives. The film starts with a horrifying power outage. All electrical devices stop functioning. Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is in ruins and life has drastically changed. Head of the family, Fumiyo Kohinata, makes a decision to evacuate his family to his native town of Kagoshima. This is when the director’s talent of humorous storytelling reveals itself. Yaguchi makes fun of his characters but at the same time together with viewers he feels affection and compassion. Shinobu Yaguchi ridicules absurdity of urban civilization and criticizes modern people unpracticality.

Zhgi! (Rock it!)

Russia, 2017

Director: Kirill Pletnev

Scriptwriter: Kirill Pletnev

Producers: Ruben Dishdiyan, Vadim Goryainov

DoP: Sergey Mikhalchuk

Cast: Inga Oboldina, Victoria Isakova, Anna Ukolova, Vladimir Ilin, Alexey Shevchenko and others.

Alevtina Romanova is a women's facility guard. She looks correspondently strict but her opera-like voice ruins her austere image. She gave up the idea of becoming a singer in her childhood and now she sings only for herself. Romashka (the nickname given by her friends) tried to sing secretively but one inmate manages to record her singing on her phone and upload it to the Internet. Video becomes a sensation. Alevtina is invited to Moscow to partake in the main national vocal competition. The character is delighted at the perspective but is not ready for the competition. The only person who lends her a helping hand is the inmate who recorded her voice, she used to be a singer herself.

YELLOW

Iran, 2017

Director: Moastafa Taghizadeh

Scriptwriter: Moastafa Taghizadeh

Producer: Kamran Madjidi

Cast: Bahram Radan, Sareh Bayat, Mehrdad Sedighian, Bahareh Kian Afshar, Shahram Haghighat Doust and others

Shahab, Nahal, Khamed, Faramarz and Niki are young, talented scientists trying to immigrate from Iran to Europe to continue their research. They have ideas, plans and perspectives. But a few days before their trip Khamed was down with serious disease. He needs urgent organ transplantation. The friends face a challenge whether to give up their idea and save a life or not. What is more precious a life-long dream or a life? As the situation develops main characters reveal their inner self and make their most important choice in life.

This is a drama about people’s relations, goals and their achievement. This film poses a question: what each of us would do and choose if we were in the Iranian scientists’ place?

LIVE FOR ME

Mexico, Spain, 2017

Director: Chema de la Peña

Scriptwriters: Chema de la Peña, Juan Manuel Romero, Enrique Urbizu

Producers: Rafael Cuervo, Alejandra Cárdenas

Music: Miguel Marín

DoP: Alberto Anaya Adalid

Cast: Margarita Rosa de Francisco, Martha Higareda, Tenoch Huerta, Tiaré Scanda, Rafael Inclán, Juan Manuel Bernal

One night a young man dies in a car crash. In several hours Ana, Valentina and Chayo receive a phone call. They are informed about a long-awaited donor emergence and they get thrilled at the idea of prospective transplantation. Characters get acquainted and attached to each other because common grief is a unifying factor. But they have to face the fact that only one of them will get a transplant. Who will become the lucky one? Will the rest be able to share joy? Chema de la Peña Live for Me depicts characters inner conflict and considerations.

JOAO – O MAESTRO

Brazil, 2017

Director: Mauro Lima

Scriptwriter: Mauro Lima

Producers: Paula Barreto, Rômulo Marinho Jr.

DoF: Paulo Vainer
Cast: Alexandre Nero, Davi Campolongo, João Pedro Germano, Rodrigo Pandolfo, João Carlos Martins, Giulio Lopes
 

This film is based on Joao Carlos Martins true story. The pianist had poor health and spent most of his childhood in isolation. Piano was his embodiment of the world. Love and fame come to the young virtuoso. Trauma received during a game of football ruins his perfect career. His beloved dies. His whole life falls apart but the character keeps fighting and becomes a left-handed pianist. His left hand tumour is shocking but eventually leads to the characters’ rebirth into a director.

ICE MOTHER

Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, 2017

Director: Bohdan Sláma

Scriptwriter: Bohdan Sláma

Producers: Pavel Strnad, Petr Oukropec

Music: Michal Holubec, Marek Piaček

DoP: Divis Marek

Cast: Zuzana Kronerová, Pavel Nový, Daniel Vízek, Václav Neužil, Tatiana Vilhelmová and others.

67-year-old Hana is the heart and soul of family that gathers weekly for dinner. Hana’s husband died several years ago and she started taking care of the house on her own. She looks after grandchildren and support her sons with money.

Same routine lasted for decades. Hana has some household problems but her children are too busy to help her. Having a walk with her grandchild she notices a drowning man and she pulls him out of icy water. This unexpected encounter changes her life completely. Hana falls in love with the saved man but this fact displeases her sons. But the mother knows what she needs.

MY BLIND DATE WITH LIFE

Germany, 2017

Director: Marc Rothemund

Scriptwriters: Oliver Ziegenbalg, Ruth Toma, Saliya Kahawatte

Producers: Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann, Tanja Ziegler, Stefan Gärtner

Music: Michael Geldreich, Jean-Christopher Ritter

DoP: Bernhard Jasper

Cast: Kosja Ullman, Nilam Farooq, Anna Maria Mühe, Rouven Blessing, Ludger Pistor

Young and optimistic Saliya dreams of joining a team of a luxury hotel staff. He fits in perfectly: he is good-looking, well-educated and charming. But his poor eyesight is a hindrance. But such drawback can’t stop him from getting his dream job. He manages to conceal this fact during an interview. Innate optimism and a close friend help him overcome difficulties and unveil a new world. He travels, does sports and leads a life unachievable for many well-sighted people. This film is based on a true story.

NOSOTROS

Spain, 2017

Director: Felipe Vara de Rey

Scriptwriter: Hugo Mas, Felipe Vara de Rey

Producers: Rafael Alberola Rubio, Carmen Alonso, Guillermo Benet

PoP: Federico Cesca

Music: Victor Magro

Production designer: Miguel de Cruz, Gema Siveroni

Cast: Antonio Mayans, Felipe Vara de Rey, Andres Lima, Antonio de Cos, Juli Mira and others

Spain of December 2015, Nosatros’s setting, is suffering from a severe political and economic crisis. Five days are left before the presidential elections; citizens’ votes will determine the country’s destiny. But prospective voters are busy with their own matters. One character got entangled into his daily routine, the other is fighting with his ex-wife for his daughter and one of them can’t accept the reality of his parents’ aging. Presidential elections are as important as their life and relationships. The five friends meet together on the election weekend and voice their decisions: «I don’t know what is going on. None of us does. It is fear. – Sara, I have never seen you scared. – But I was. We all know that feeling. That’s why we are waiting for something to happen. Maybe we should quit waiting? …»

IL CRIMINE NON VA IN PENSIONE

Italy, 2017

Director: Fabio Fulco

Scriptwriter: Fabrizio Quadroli

Producers: Claudio Bucci, John Cesaroni

Music: Franco Eco

DoP: Dario Germani

Cast: Stefania Sandrelli, Orso Maria Guerrini, Ivano Marescotti, Gianmarco D’Angelo, Ivano Marescotti, Gianmarco Tognazzi, Maurizio Mattioli

Residents of Santa Margarita retirement home decide to help their friend who lost all her savings in a flash. They plan to …rob a Bingo club. Senior criminals’ gang is well-organized and careful. But their plan went wrong because of contingence. The editorial debut of Fabio Fulco is filled with warm sense of humour.

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III International Motivational Film and Sport Festival BRIDGE of ARTS will take place in Rostov-on-Don on 23-27 August, 2017. Festival will feature competition and non-competition screenings and Business Forum of film and media content. Special project of BRIDGE of ARTS 2017 Russian National Tourism and Travel Film Competition «Russia Inspires!» will be conducted within the festival’s framework.

II International Motivational Film and Sport Festival BRIDGE of ARTS 2016 received the grand prize at RussianEventAwards 2016 in category «Best tourist event dedicated to the Year of Cinema» and became a laureate at RussianOpenEventExpo 2016, Russian national event tourism competition, in «Innovative event project» category.