Meet-the-artist events, and competition screenings: Highlights of Day 3 Hero Festival Krasnoyarsk

Third day of the II International Film Festival for Children and Youth “Hero” ended in Krasnoyarsk on May 21. Today, citizens and guests of the region got a chance to see animation, documentary, and artistic works of the festival participants at various educational and cultural venues as well as participate in discussions and get acquainted with the work of eminent filmmakers and animators.

The third day of the festival began with the meet-the-artist event with director Denis Chernov and screenwriter Tatyana Belova. They created Kikoriki - funny, chubby animated characters familiar to every kid. The event was also attended by Irina Mastusova, executive director of the Animated Film Association, and Natalia Nilova, creator of the cartoons Two Tails and The Big Journey. The guests talked with students of Surikov Krasnoyarsk Art College about the difficulties of the profession and the history of animated films.

The profession of an animator is very attractive as well everything that is related to it. However, you must understand that this should be taken very seriously from the beginning. Animation is a real miracle. You act like magician, force the viewer to be deceived and bought into the fact that a bunch of pixels on the screen are alive, there is a relationship between them, and there is life in this. But you must realize that behind all this is a lot of work, effort, years of study and perseverance that come together. All these components will give you professional training and the opportunity to find yourself in the profession. – said Denis Chernov.

Crucial part of the meeting was dedicated to the discussion of education and animation. The first Creative Industry School will open within the Krasnoyarsk Art College in the next academic year. Students will be able to study in four areas: animation and 3D graphics, photo and video production, design, and interactive technologies. Screenwriter Tatyana Belova will become the mentor and teacher of the animation course at the Krasnoyarsk Art College.

The fact that these courses are being opened at the school says that industrial animation is taking shape in our country and there is a need for professional personnel. The first major studios such as Melnitsa, Wizart Animation and the Petersburg Computer Animation Studio had to open their own animation courses and teach people the basics of the profession in the early years of industrial animation, almost 20 years ago. Now we can train people for the future work without fear that they will be left out, because various animation majors are becoming more and more in demand. We do hope that the presence of regional educational projects will provide the industry with additional personnel who, living and working in the region, will be able to take production orders of large animation holdings and structures. We are here with you because we need you. So good luck, we are looking forward to young and talented people in this profession. – said Irina Mastusova to students and participants of the event.

At the same time, directors Elena Turova, Tatyana Miroshnik and producer Yuri Obukhov visited Aban to present their films to residents. Stars of the Seventh Heaven is a full-length animated drama about young brave heroes saving the planet, Me and Cinema is a documentary about the influence of cinema on children and teenagers, Call Me Thrush is a feature work about growing up and family relationships. Audience absolutely loved it, the residents of Aban did not let the guests go for a long time and asked the filmmakers a variety of questions. Citizens of Divnogorsk, Norilsk and Uzhur continue to watch competition and non-competition programs and get acquainted with the world of children's cinema.

The biggest number of screenings of the festival participants were held in Cinema Park, the main venue, from morning until late in the evening. Works of both Russian and foreign authors were presented today in the competition of full-length feature films. Many directors, film critics, and producers came to Krasnoyarsk specially to present films and discuss them with the audience. There are Iranian author Arash Sajjadi Farid, directors Daria Binevskaya and Anton Bogdanov, as well as the host of the Great Illusion podcast Alexey Solovyov.

The documentary program of the festival shouldn't be left behind as well. It began with watching films dedicated to the year of the cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia. The show was attended by Vladimir Tarasov, well-known animator and artist, creator of the projects Time, Forward, Contact, Cowboys in the City and several episodes of Well, Just You Wait!. Short Film - Broad Meaning program included three films from the Netherlands that were presented at once today. The documentary screenings ended with My Yeti Friend by Vladimir Krivov. The story is about a man who devoted his life to searching for Bigfoot. It was followed by the other film Lida by Konstantin Reich that tells about Lida Moniava, the founder of the Lighthouse Charity Foundation.

One of the biggest events of the third day of the festival was a meet-the-artist event with Dimitris Koutsiabasakos, Associate Professor of Film Directing at the School of Film at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). Screening of the Janis Kastritsis: The Man and His Shadow documentary took place in the Art Attic (Art Cherdak Hall) of the Krasnoyarsk Dom Kino. According to the author himself, this film takes a special place in his heart. The cinematographer even made Russian subtitles for the film to show it to his old friend from Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. The film tells about the life of an original Greek artist who was born in a small village. But this story is not about a talented creator, but about all the inhabitants of a modest colorful settlement, which is gradually dying out due to the rapid urbanization of Greece. And this problem largely intersects with the life of Dimitris Koutsiabasakos himself.

My village didn't even have electricity until 1984. And my grandmother was very fond of telling not fairy tales, but stories from her life. And I loved listening to it so much, which is probably why my most successful documentary, which I made right after I graduated from Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, was a film about my grandmother. <...> I come from a very poor village family that could not give me an education, and I wanted to become a director. Like Maxim Gorky, I didn’t have a father, my mother was disabled, I wanted to study and then work in cinematography, but there was no money. While working in Athens at the time, I would go around and say: “Lord, there is no such film school in the world where you can study without money!”, and they say to me: “Yes. The best film school in the world, they take it without money, this is Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. I was not a member of any party, I went, I would say, brazenly applied and was sure that they would not accept me. And I forgot about it, and then they call me and say that I have to go to the Soviet Union in 5 days. So, I became a director and it happened thanks to Russia. – said Dimitris Koutsiabasakos.

Fans of animation admired a program of short cartoons called Inspiration, Imagination, Creativity, which is dedicated to the power of art, as well as enjoyed full-length animation works that have captivated many children all over Russia. The adventure comedy Hansel, Gretel and the Agency of Magic was presented by director Alexey Tsitsylin, and the first full-length animated work based on the universe of the popular franchise Koschey. The Beginning (the Immortal) was presented by Denis Alymov, Parovoz studio supervisor. Screenings also took place in Mechta Children Cinema in the State Universal Scientific Library and in the Museum-estate of Yudin.

Reference Information:

II International Film Festival for Children and Youth “Hero” is the only one professional international competition for children and youth in Russia from Eastern Siberia to Sakhalin. The founder is the Ministry of Culture of the Krasnoyarsk region, the organizer is Krasnoyarsk State Autonomous Cultural Organization Enisey Kino. The festival takes place once in two years in the Krasnoyarsk region. The President of the festival is Vladimir Grammatikov, Honored Artist of Russia, film director, screenwriter, Disney Company creative producer. The Chairman of the Jury is Vladimir Alennikov, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, film director, screenwriter, writer, and producer.

Jury also consists foreign experts, and the program includes films from Russia and abroad. Meet-the-artist events as well as workshops, lectures, education laboratories, round table and discission platforms will be held during the forum.