The laureates of the 35th Message to Man International Film Festival have been announced. From 17 to 25 October, St. Petersburg hosted screenings of 82 films in the International, National, and the In Silico Experimental Film Competitions, selected out of 3,000 submissions from 96 countries worldwide.
Jury members and Festival partners revealed the award recipients during a Gala Ceremony at the Alexandrinsky Theatre’s New Stage. The evening was enriched by musical performances from Honoured Artist of Russia and State Prize laureate Yulia Peresild and the instrumental band Mandragora.
The Festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives, and the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture.
The award ceremony on 24 October was attended by Festival President Aleksey Uchitel, members of the International, National, and the In Silico Experimental Competition juries, as well as the Press Jury and the Student Jury.
The anniversary Message to Man Festival was marked not only by its competition screenings but also by 11 special sections, industry events, and an extensive parallel programme encompassing exhibitions, performances, a dance production, lectures, and masterclasses. This year’s highlight, the Sky Cinema project, will continue to delight guests through 30 October. From 15 November to 15 December, the Festival’s finest films will be showcased as part of the Echoes of Message to Man, with screenings in Moscow, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Perm, and Vladivostok.
Festival events took place at Dom Kino, Lenfilm, Rodina, and Velikan Park cinema centres, the Aurora Cinema and Cinéma Michèle, Dom Radio, the Levashovsky Bread Factory cultural centre, the Community space on New Holland Island, the Doctrina et Nobiles educational space, the HSE Art and Design School International, the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television, the Word Order bookstore, the Boris Eifman Dance Academy Theatre, and the Alexandrinsky Theatre’s New Stage.
The closing ceremony featured musical performances by Honoured Artist of Russia and State Prize laureate Yulia Peresild and the instrumental band Mandragora. The evening was hosted by Alexandrinsky Theatre director Alexander Malich and actress of film and the Theatre on Bronnaya, Anastasia Ilyinskaya.
MAIN COMPETITION PRIZES
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
International Competition awards were presented by the Chair of the International Competition Jury, Marco Müller, and jury members Maria Matsel, Acácio de Almeida, Sylvain George, and Mili Pecherer.
- Golden Centaur Grand Prix and a cash prize of 250,000 roubles for Best Film of the Festival
Fallout Zones, directed by Igor Elukov. Russia, 2025
- Silver Centaur Special Jury Prize and a cash prize of 100,000 roubles awarded “For an emotional encounter through a new animation language”
It Shouldn’t Rain Tomorrow, directed by Maria Trigo Teixeira. Portugal, Germany, 2024
- Silver Centaur Special Jury Prize and a cash prize of 100,000 roubles awarded “For an amazingly strong visual to represent a universal Confucian confusion”
Urban Duo, directed by Yue Hongyu. China, 2024
- Silver Centaur Special Jury Prize and a cash prize of 100,000 roubles awarded “For a very personal reading of an unknown facet of contemporary Iran”
Citizen-Inmate, directed by Hesam Eslami. Iran, 2025
INATIONAL COMPETITION
The laureates of the National Competition were announced by jury members Sitora Alieva, Renata Dzhalo, and Filip Perkon
- Silver Centaur Prize and a cash prize of 100,000 roubles for Best Documentary Film in the National Competition awarded “For pursuing artistic honesty and believing in the future”
Adventures of a Real Samurai in the World of Disasters, directed by Lida Kanashova, Dmitry Vorobiev. Russia, 2025
- Silver Centaur Special Jury Prize and a cash prize of 50,000 roubles awarded “For thematic relevance and the director’s vision”
Mind the Closing Doors, directed by Yana Isaenko. Russia, France, 2025
- Diploma awarded “For capturing the paradoxes of contemporary life”
Vishev. Pause, directed by Konstantin Atamanyuk. Russia, 2025
IN SILICO EXPERIMENTAL FILM COMPETITION
The awards were presented by members of the jury in this section: Tikhon Pendyurin, Anastasia Senchenko, and Platon Infante.
- Silver Centaur Prize and a cash prize of 100,000 roubles for Best Experimental Film
One Hundred Years Later, directed by Christoph Girardet. Germany, 2025
- Diploma awarded “For discovering the invisible connections”
secret [mis]communication system 2, directed by Nikita Spiridonov. Russia, 2025
- Diploma awarded “For a poignant illumination”
Like Horses Standing in the Rain, directed by Nicolaas Schmidt. Germany, 2025
PRESS JURY PRIZES
The Press Jury award recipients were announced by Fekla Tolstaya, Nikita Kartsev, Pavel Basinsky, and Sophie Shevardnadze.
- The Press Jury Prize awarded “For delving into the depths where we usually tread the surface; for reflecting grand history through the lives of ordinary people”
Mind the Closing Doors, directed by Yana Isaenko. Russia, France, 2025
- Diploma awarded “For graceful artistic expression in documentary cinema”
Graziano – A Hermit’s Story, directed by Jozefien Van der Aelst. Belgium, Germany, 2024
STUDENT JURY PRIZES
Eva Baltzer, Anna Volkova, and Kama Melentieva announced the best works selected by the Student Jury.
- Diploma awarded “For a bold immersion in a personal story”
Old House, directed by Lyubov Korlykhanova. Russia, 2025
- Diploma awarded “For an ironic, honest, and sensitive narrative that lingers with us after exploring the cosmos”
Fallout Zones, directed by Igor Elukov. Russia, 2025
SPECIAL AWARDS
AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD CINEMA
Awarded to cinematographer Yury Klimenko
AWARD FROM THE MESSAGE TO MAN HONORARY PRESIDENT, FILMMAKER MIKHAIL LITVYAKOV
Adventures of a Real Samurai in the World of Disasters, directed by Lida Kanashova, Dmitry Vorobiev. Russia, 2025
AWARD FROM ILIM GROUP, GENERAL PARTNER OF THE FESTIVAL
Adventures of a Real Samurai in the World of Disasters, directed by Lida Kanashova, Dmitry Vorobiev. Russia, 2025
THE LENINGRAD LABOUR UNION FEDERATION SPECIAL AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT WORKING PEOPLE
HAPPIN, directed by Inna Kudryavtseva. Russia, 2024
ALEXANDER RASTORGUEV AWARD
HAPPIN, directed by Inna Kudryavtseva. Russia, 2024
SPECIAL AWARD FROM KINOTEHNIKA FILM EQUIPMENT RENTAL COMPANY FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THE NATIONAL COMPETITION OF DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Cinematographer Andrey Antonov for The Instinct, directed by Philip Ustinov. Russia, 2025.
SPECIAL AWARD FROM RUSSKOE KINO V TOPE TELEGRAM CHANNEL “For best self-casting for the role of the worst version of self”
Not Karenina, directed by Pavel Timofeev. Russia, 2024