‘Echo of the Film Debut Festival’: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Krasnodar to Screen Iconic Films from Spirit of Fire Festival

The 22nd Spirit of Fire International Film Debut Festival will take place on 23–26 March in Khanty-Mansiysk as part of the programme of Russia’s BRICS Chairship in 2024.

KARO Film and the Spirit of Fire Academy will hold free screenings in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Krasnodar on 12–13 March. They will present six films, including the winning films from the festival, which have already become classics of Russian cinema, as well as new films that debuted at the Spirit of Fire in the last few years. The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia’s BRICS Chairship and is the communication partner of the festival.

This year’s Spirit of Fire business programme aims to establish a creative and industrial dialogue between filmmakers from BRICS countries in film production, film distribution, professional education, and the festival movement. An eventful programme of sessions, roundtables, and pitches will ensure a comprehensive discussion about various ways to develop cinema in BRICS countries with the aim of launching ambitious joint projects in cinema and animation, an intensive cultural exchange, and other forms of multifaceted cooperation, which should provide a new impetus for the film industry of Russia and BRICS countries.

“Watching a film together in a cinema hall gives rise to joint empathy and you can expect a lot of emotions. It’s not at all the same as watching a movie at home in an armchair,” Spirit of Fire Festival President and world-famous director Emir Kusturica said.

Over its more than twenty years of history, the Spirit of Fire Festival, which was founded by the prominent Russian director Sergey Solovyov, has helped hundreds of bright and innovative films find audiences and opened the doors for budding directors from different countries. The new films could be evaluated by filmmakers, critics, and festival spectators who live in Khanty-Mansiysk, but not all the films could be seen on the big screen in other Russian cities. The screening programme ‘Spirit of Fire. Starting Point’ is the first project of this type in the history of the Spirit of Fire Festival and the first event in the ‘Echo of the Film Debut Festival’ series of events.