The Belarus’ largest and most prestigious public film festival Listapad annually takes place at the beginning of November. The main purpose of the festival is to offer a wide selection of highly acclaimed feature films, documentaries from all over the world as well as new productions from Belarus. It screens recent titles and retrospectives.
The Minsk International Film Festival program has three sections - feature, documentary and children and youth film festival Listapadzik. During a week cinema goers have a possibility to watch more than 100 movies in 5 venues. Also, special programs in focus, master-classes, seminars and other related events are presented annually. Filmmakers, actors and supporters have the opportunity to network at various events. Q&A sessions with directors and actors follow every screening giving moviegoers first-hand access to the filmmaking process.
Around 12 outstanding films for the last two years from Russia, the Central and Eastern Europe, Baltics and Central-Asian countries comprise in Main competition.
No less than 8 most notable first and second feature films for the last two years from all over the world comprise in Young Directors competition "Youth on the march".
Documentary competition includes the main competition and young directors documentary film competition. No less than 20 full-length and short critically acclaimed films for the last two years are in the main program. Over 15 prominent filmmakers’ current films inspired by the idea of freedom and tolerance comprise in young directors documentary film competition.
No less than 6 competing full-length feature films for Children and Youth for the last two years and non-competitive special programs including features, shorts and animation films from all over the world take part in the Children and Youth Film Festival Listapadzik.
The out-of-competition programs present more than 50 titles of genre and independent movies made by cult filmmakers from all over the world.
The last Festival edition was held on November, 5-12th in Belarus. The last year the Festival appeared in a completely updated format. For the first time the Festival competition program was as follows:
- The Main competition, which was presented 12 feature films made in the former Soviet Union and the former socialist countries;
- Young Directors’ competition (“Youth on the March”), which included 9 most notable feature debuts of emerging directors from all over the world;
- Documentary films competition, which presented to the jury and the public 23 films created in the former Soviet Union and the former socialist countries;
- Young Directors’ documentary films competition, which included the most notable debuts in documentary from all over the world.
During the Festivalfour Juries worked:
- the InternationalJury of the Main competition (Grand Jury):
Head of Jury
Sharunas Bartas(Lithuania) - director, scriptwriter, director of photography, member ofEuropean Motion Picture Academy, international film festivals prize-winner
Jury
Janusz Kijowski(Poland) - director, scriptwriter
Elena Koreneva(Russia) - actress, writer
Tatiana Loginova(Belarus) - director of photography, laureate of State Prize of USSR,international film festivals prize-winner
Kirill Razlogov(Russia) - director of Russian Institute for Cultural Research, programdirector of Moscow International Film Festival
- the InternationalJury of Young Directors competition ("Youth on the March"):
Head of Jury
Ludmila Saenkova(Belarus) - film critic, candidate of philology science, head of literary andart criticism chair of Journalism Institute of Belarusian State University
Jury
Rodion Ismailov(Azerbaijan) - director
Natalya Vorozhbit(Ukraine) - scriptwriter
- the InternationalJury of Documentary films competition:
Head of Jury
Victor Asliuk(Belarus) - director, scriptwriter, member of European Film Academy, nationaland international film festivals prize-winner
Jury
Sergey Bukovsky(Ukraine) - director, People's Artist of Ukraine, laureate of National TarasShevchenko Award, international film festivals prize-winner
Svetlana Bychenko(Russia) - director of documentary and animation films, scriptwriter,international film festivals prize-winner
Veslav Romanovski(Poland) - director, scriptwriter, literary, deputy director of PolishInstitute in Minsk
Anna Yerzinkyan (Armenia)- film critic, professor, pro-rector of Yerevan State Theatre and FilmInstitute
- the InternationalJury of Young Directors documentary films competition:
Head of Jury
Aleksandr Kuprin(Russia) - director, scriptwriter, international film festivals prize-winner
Jury
Sergey Rybakov(Belarus) - director, international film festivals prize-winner, "For SpiritualRenovation" Award owner, laureate of national award "Televershyna"
Toms Trеibergs (Latvia) - film critic, filmsubeditor of the newspaper "Cultural Forum"
Also festival audiencecould participate in the viewer's jury. Everyone had possibility to rate foreach feature. Festival preferences rating was generated according to theresults of viewer's votes
The Grand Jury awardedthe following nominations:
- Grand-Prix For TheBest Film
"My Joy",Ukraine-Germany-The Netherlands, director Sergey Loznitsa
- Special Jury Award
The Light Thief,Kyrgyzstan-France-Germany-The Netherlands, director Aktan Arym Kubat
The Jury of the Youthon the March competition awarded:
- Best Film Awardnamed after the people`s artist of USSR V. Turov
"October", Peru,directors Daniel Vega, Diego Vega
- Prize "For the dancewith reality"
"You Are All TheCaptains", Spain, director Oliver Laxe
- Prize "For therealization of the freedom's theme"
"Udaan", India,director Vikramaditya Motwane
The Jury ofDocumentary films competition awarded:
- Grand-Prix for theBest Film
"The Woman With FiveElephants", Switzerland-Germany, director Vadim Jendreyko
- Best Full-LengthFilm Award
"The Last Rope-WalkerOf Armenia", Armenia, directors Arman Eritsyan, Inna Saakyan
- Best Short FilmAward
"The Backwoods 35х45", Russia, director Evgeny Solomin
The Jury of Youngdirectors documentary films competition awarded:
- Best Full-LengthFilm Award
"The Last Train Home",Canada-China, director Lixin Fan
- Best Short FilmAward
"The World Champion",Estonia, director Moonika Siimets
- Prize "For thecreative search and active political fences"
"Make Tea",Russia-Great Britain, director Olga Korotkaya
- Prize "For theuniversality of director's profession"
"Kill the Day",Belarus-Poland, directors Andrei Kutilo, Aleksandr Nalivaiko
- Prize "For thesearch of new cinematographic language"
"In Case Of LossPressure" (Belgium, director Sarah Moon Howe)
The festival alsoestablished the following prizes:
- Audience ChoiceAward
"Brother", Venezuela,director Marcel Rasquin
- Special Prize of thePresident of the Republic of Belarus "For Humanism and Spirituality incinematography"
"Brother", Venezuela,director Marcel Rasquin
- Special Prize"Together" of The Standing Committee Of The Union State
"The Brest Fortress",Russia-Belarus, director Aleksandr Kott
- Special Prize ofMinsk City Executive Committee for the Moral Ideals Embodyment
"Street Days",Georgia, director Levan Koguashvili
Prizes of the Guild ofscholars and critics of Belarusian cinematographers union
- Best Fiction FilmAward
"Street Days",Georgia, director Levan Koguashvili
- Best Non-Fictional Film Award
"Kill the Day",Belarus, directors Andrei Kutilo, Aleksandr Nalivaiko
