The Industry Programme of the Message to Man International Film Festival took place in St. Petersburg from 20 to 22 October. Over three days, the programme hosted more than 10 events — round tables, screenings, pitching sessions, presentations and more — offering a snapshot of where non-fiction cinema stands today.
More than 500 film industry professionals took part, including representatives of Lenfilm Studio, the Regional Cinema Support Fund, Gosfilmofond of Russia, the Russian Geographical Society, Premier, Okko, Start, VK Video, RUTUBE, Smotrim, KION, the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television, the KINORA Foundation, LKSpost and many others.
The core of the Industry Programme consisted of pitching sessions for non-fiction and experimental projects, presentations of documentary projects by online platforms, and discussions on current issues in film production and distribution.
Konstantin Nafikov, curator of the Industry Programme:
“The Message to Tomorrow 3.0 documentary pitching featured both high-budget documentary films and series and auteur projects from small teams with budgets of up to one million rubles. The participating projects came from many regions of Russia, including Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, Perm and other cities. We gave special recognition to one of the winning projects, Galaktionovo, by Sofia Galaktionova, a student at the Krasnoyarsk College of Services and Entrepreneurship. Promoting young filmmakers from Russia’s regions is one of the main goals of the Festival’s Industry Programme.”
Pitching Results
Message to Tomorrow 3.0 Documentary Pitching
- Sunset Catcher, directed by Andrey Zubov — 300 000 rubles
- Galaktionovo, directed by Sofia Galaktionova — 100 000 rubles
- Pet Cemetery, directed by Lidia Filippova — 100 000 rubles
Horizon Experimental Pitching
- Ballet, directed by Nikita Spiridonov — 100 000 rubles
- If You Become Human, Who Will Swim for You, directed by Sofia Manulits — 70 000 rubles
- A Personal History of Paper Cinema, directed by Alexey Pryakhin — 30 000 rubles
- Body, directed by Irina Kofova — Special Prize from the KINORA Foundation: a film equipment rental certificate
Discussions and Round Tables
This year the programme focused on developing post-production capabilities in non-fiction cinema and the role of AI in this process. Round table participants also discussed the distribution of non-fiction films in St. Petersburg and across Russia.
A highlight of the Industry Programme was the round table “Documentary Films on Platforms Five Years On: Changing Focus and Experimenting with Genres”, curated by Susanna Alperina. Okko producer Vladimir Todorov spoke about the upcoming rise in budgets for vertical projects to the level of “classic” horizontal ones. KION Creative Director Ilya Burets and VK Video representative Dmitry Salov agreed that the vertical format will not fully replace the horizontal one, but will rather become an additional type of content tailored to the habits of younger audiences. Gosfilmofond Director General Denis Aksyonov spoke about the launch of a channel of short vertical videos devoted to film history, as well as about the work on the Gosfilmofond of Russia Academy project. Part of the discussion focused on artificial intelligence in documentary filmmaking: today an AI artist becomes a full co-author, but generated content must be approached with historical accuracy in mind.
In another session — the presentation of RUTUBE’s opportunities for creators — Ekaterina Vulfovich, Creative Producer of Documentaries at RUTUBE and PREMIER, spoke about what the platform offers documentary filmmakers and other creators, and about the service’s systematic support for independent projects. RUTUBE is actively developing its non-fiction offering, building a dedicated showcase and providing creators with transparent distribution terms. According to the speaker, the platform’s audience increasingly watches long-form content, mostly on Smart TVs. Viewers closely follow new documentary releases and value depth and expertise, which makes the platform attractive for feature-length films and documentary series. Within the RUTUBE and PREMIER ecosystem, creators gain not only access to an audience of many millions but also comprehensive support, from promotion consulting to grant programmes and co-production.
Over three years, the Festival’s Industry Programme has become a respected practical platform that consistently brings together creators and producers of auteur and experimental cinema and of content for online platforms and social media.
In 2026, the winner of the National Competition was the documentary Mother, directed by Elizaveta Bobyleva. The project was one of the pitching winners in 2024. In total, the programme of the 36th Message to Man Festival featured three films that had previously won the Industry Programme pitching sessions: Mother, Once Upon a Summer and Songs of the Moon King.