The 32nd annual Message to Man International Film Festival announces prize winners and award recipients in the festival’s three competitions – the National and International competitions, and the In Silico experimental film competition – as well as the student jury selection. For many years, the festival has been Russia’s leading film presentation event in terms of the number of applications and the geographical scope of participants. In 2022, 1,435 applications from 76 countries were submitted for participation in the Message to Man International Film Festival. Only 50 films were included in the competition. On October 28, at the festival’s closing ceremony which took place at the Lendoc film studio in St. Petersburg, the winning films of 2022 were announced.
The award ceremony was attended by Chairman of the Committee for Culture of the St. Petersburg administration Fyodor Boltin, Festival President Alexei Uchitel, members of the International Jury, filmmaker Simon Gillard, theatre and film director, producer, and actor Adams Mensah, film director and screenwriter Noushin Meraji, filmmaker Vuk Mitevski, director, screenwriter, producer Larisa Sadilova.
In addition to screenings of films in competition, the festival featured 4 special programmes prepared by curators, 3 round tables and 3 workshops. From October 21 to 29, the festival’s 8 venues hosted screenings of the films in special programmes: Panorama.doc by Natalia Pylaeva and Alexei Medvedev, Superreal Cinema by Alexei Plakhov, New Voices by Mikhail Ratgauz, Red Africa by Alexander Markov, Elastic Past by Andrey Vasilenko, as well as a series of special screenings. The films in the National Competition were screened at Lendoc, Dom Kino and Velikan Park, and the festival’s opening ceremony was held at the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre. The works of the Documentary Animation School students, as well as young directors from VGIK and the St. Petersburg State Institute of Cinematography were screened. Film screenings of the Message to Man Film Festival programme were also held at Aurora, Rodina, Dom Radio, and the Word Order bookstore.
“Against all predictions that this year the circumstances would disrupt our plans, it is amazing that the Message to Man Festival not only happened but became a landmark one. We designed an excellent programme, and many interesting guests attended. What I believe to be the most surprising thing is that we managed to bring people to the cinemas. Even by preliminary estimation, viewership beats previous years’ numbers severalfold. The main outcome is that people have interest in cinema that is special, unique, and crafted with talent. That interest was supported by the film enthusiasts and the audience alike. The festival took place under the circumstances where it seemed like our choice was limited; nonetheless, it was a victory for us, and we demonstrated that the festival is alive and well, and it has progressed to a new stage,” said Alexei Uchitel, President of the Message to Man Film Festival.
AWARDS:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Golden Centaur Grand Prix and 3,000 USD prize for Best Film “For the original and accurate depiction of the city’s metro, which gives us a chance to experience the alternate reality of Moscow residents while exploring a direction of our own”
Where Are We Headed, directed by Ruslan Fedotov, Belarus, Russia, 2021.
Centaur Special Prize of the International Competition Jury and 1,000 USD prize “For the film about love and forgiveness not subject to time”
Turn Your Body to the Sun, directed by Aliona van der Horst, Netherlands, 2022.
Centaur Special Prize of the International Competition Jury and 1,000 USD prize “For the director’s view to preserve historical memory and prevent from repeating history’s tragic events”
Nicolae, directed by Mihai Grecu, France, 2022.
Centaur Special Prize of the International Competition Jury and 1,000 USD prize: “Things I Could Never Tell My Mother gave the jury a chance to look into the director’s personal space and see how she copes with family troubles and her own problems. Anyone of us faces similar family troubles at some point, in one way or another.”
Things I Could Never Tell My Mother, directed by Humaira Bilkis, Bangladesh, 2022.
Special Mention of the Jury “For creating a diverse and complex portrait of St. Petersburg”
Holidays, directed by Antoine Cattin, Switzerland, 2022.
NATIONAL COMPETITION, DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Centaur Prize and 50,000 RUB prize for Best Documentary Film in the National Competition “For the sincerity of characters and the director’s mindful attention”
Orphans, directed by Alexei Sukhovey, Russia, 2022, 185 min.
Special Centaur Prize of the National Competition Jury and 30,000 RUB prize “For visual surprise and poetics”
Haulout, directed by Maxim and Evgenia Arbugaev, Russia, 2022, 25 min.
IN SILICO INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF EXPERIMENTAL FILMS
Centaur Prize of the In Silico Competition Jury and 1,000 USD prize for Best Experimental Film
The Song of Bosphorus, directed by Fedor Maksimishin, Russia, 2022, 10 min
Diploma “For exemplary self-improvement by scarce means”
16 Years, directed by Patrick Buhr, Germany, 2020, 4 min
Award for contribution to European auteur cinema
Vuk Mitevski, Chairman of the International Competition Jury
ADDITIONAL AWARDS:
STUDENT JURY PRIZE
Turn Your Body to the Sun, directed by Aliona van der Horst, Netherlands, 2022.
Diploma “For the chance to ask a question in the past and get an answer in the present”
My Kolyma Vegetable Garden, directed by Evgenia Korchagina, Russia, 2021, 3 min.
FILM CRITICS PRIZE
Main Prize of the Film Critics Jury “For the conceptual and sensual look at everyday reality”
Skin, directed by Marcos Pimentel, Brazil, 2021, 75 min.
Special Mention of the Film Critics Jury “For the absurdist and accurate image of our reality”
Tip-off, directed by Vyacheslav Fedotov, Russia, 2021, 76 min.
OTHER AWARDS:
Prize of the Honorary Festival President Mikhail Litvyakov “For the sincere love for cinema and many years of work in training new generations of cinematographers”
Nikolay Volkov
General Sponsor Prize – Ilim Group
Haulout, directed by Maxim and Evgenia Arbugaev, Russia, 2022, 25 min
Danya Gurevich Prize for Best Cinematography
Haulout, directed by Maxim and Evgenia Arbugaev, Russia, 2022, 25 min
Prize of the Trade Unions Federation
Subtle Fields, directed by Dmitry Lookianov, Russia, 2022, 78 min
