The IV International Film Festival for Children and Youth “Hero” in Krasnoyarsk Region: Cinema for the Whole Family

The IV International Film Festival for Children and Youth “Hero” will be held in Krasnoyarsk from May 18 to 22, 2026. In addition to Krasnoyarsk, the Film Festival will be held in four towns in the region: Norilsk, Uyar, Divnogorsk and Kuragino.

Main venue in Krasnoyarsk is Cinema Park at the “Russia” National Center.

The Film Festival was founded by the Ministry of Culture of Krasnoyarsk Region and organized by the Yenisei Kino State Autonomous Cultural Institution.

The Festival program features 109 films from 27 countries, with 59 of them being shown in Russia for the first time. Viewers will see films from Russia, Belarus, Brazil, Hungary, Germany, Greece, China, Italy, and other countries.

Foreign films are screened in their original language with Russian subtitles. Following the screenings, there will be a discussion of the films.

On May 18 at 6:00 PM, the IV International Film Festival for Children and Youth “Hero” —a major cultural event in the region—will officially open at the Cinema Park movie theater (1i Dubrovinskogo Street).  

Starting at 5:00 PM on May 18, thematic interactive zones will be available at the Cinema Park theater themed interactive venues will be set up on the territory of the Cinema Park, — the perfect entertainment for young viewers and their parents before the Film Festival’s grand opening. Visitors will be able to enjoy to a master class on creating a film bouquet, a fun film quiz with questions about famous children’s films and cartoons, themed photo zones, film art locations, life-size puppets, live music, and many other exciting activities. This is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of cinema before the opening ceremony and have a fun and rewarding time!

Admission to the opening ceremony is by invitation tickets.You can get them for free on the official festival website:: https://geroyfilm.ru/  The number of seats is limited — we recommend that you purchase your tickets in advance!

The opening film will be Svyatoslav Vlasov's family drama "My Grandfather" (Russia, 2025, 104 minutes, 12+). The film will be personally presented by young actor Vsevolod Klimenok, who played the lead role. This is a touching story about the power of love, trust, and support, and how these values can help overcome any challenges, including the harsh trials of the taiga and the struggle with inner fears.

The Film Festival program can be viewed on the website https://geroyfilm.ru/raspisanie/

Directors, actors, screenwriters, and producers from China, Uzbekistan, and various regions of Russia will attend the Film Festival. Among the honored guests and jury members are:

Vladimir Grammatikov — Festival President and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Alenikov — Chairman of the Jury and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.

Vitalia Kornienko — actress and dubbing artist, and Ambassador of the Film Festival.

Vladimir Golovnev — a director, producer, and screenwriter of feature and documentary films.

Konstantin Feoktistov — the creator of popular animated universes.

Yuri Ermolin — the camerman.

The Film Festival will feature themed screenings dedicated to the 400th anniversary of Krasnoyarsk, the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, and the 90th anniversary of the Soyuzmultfilm studio.

A special event will also be held during the Hero Film Festival: screenings of the Yenisei Kino project “Yenisei Meridian. To the Front”.

The closing ceremony of the IV Hero International Film Festival for Children and Youth will take place on May 22 at 6:00 p.m. at the main festival venue, the Cinema Park movie theater (1i Dubrovinskogo Street).
The winners in eight competitive categories eight competition categories will be announced at the ceremony — a spectacular finale to this large-scale Film Festival!

Following the conclusion of the Film Festival, as per tradition, the "Echo of the International Film Festival"will begin: from May 23 to June 30, 2026, selected films will be shown in cinemas throughout the Krasnoyarsk Region. This will allow even more viewers to experience the program’s best works.

INFORMATION:

The Film Festival began in 2018 as a nationwide event. It was granted international status in 2020. In 2021, the Film Festival was included in the Law of the Krasnoyarsk Region dated June 17, 2021, No. 11-5188 “On Patriotic Education”.

The Film School has been operating at the Festival for four years now; its students actively participate in the discussion headquarters for teenagers after screenings and debates. A pitching session for projects by the film school participants will also be held as part of the IV International Film Festival for Children and Youth “Hero”. As a reminder, filmmaking training for children and adolescents has been offered since 2022, after which some graduates continue their education at higher educational institutions in the film industry both domestically and internationally.

The main goal of the Film Festival is to introduce children to outstanding examples of contemporary Russian and world cinema, to foster high spiritual and moral values, an aesthetic attitude toward reality, and artistic taste, and to teach them modern film and animation technologies.