The Message to Man International Film Festival, held in St. Petersburg with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives and the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture, announces its winners and award recipients. For many years, Message to Man has been Russia’s premier film festival in terms of the number of submissions and the global reach of its participants. In 2023, the Message to Man International Film Festival received a total of 2,019 entries from 82 countries, with only 63 films making it to the competition. The closing ceremony on October 27 at the LenDoc film studio in St. Petersburg marked the announcement of the 33rd Festival’s best films.
The awarding ceremony was attended by Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture Fyodor Boltin, President of the Festival Alexey Uchitel, and members of the jury: Chairman of the International Jury, Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane, filmmaker from China Ji Huang, actress Elizaveta Boyarskaya.
In addition to the screenings of films in competition, the Festival featured 8 special programmes with unique content prepared by the curators, more than two dozen special screenings, 2 roundtable discussions and several master classes. From October 20 to 28, the 9 Festival venues hosted screenings of the films included in the special programmes: ‘Panorama.doc’ by Natalia Pylaeva and Alexei Medvedev, ‘Superreal Cinema’ by Alexei Plakhov, ‘New Voices’ by Mikhail Ratgauz, ‘We’ll Draw It, We’ll Live It!’ by Natalia Dabizha, films by young Russian directors in the programme ‘Russian Youth. Present Continuous’, as well as films by students from Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) and the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television. Screenings of films in the Message to Man Festival programme took place at the Dom Kino film centre, LenDoc film studio, Aurora, Rodina, Angleterre, Lenfilm, Velikan Park cinemas, Dom Radio, the Alexandrinsky Theatre’s New Stage, as well as at the Word Order bookshop.
“This year’s Message to Man Festival turned out exactly as we’re accustomed to: a multitude of premieres and fresh films, a broad competition programme that encompassed 63 films across diverse genres from every corner of the world. Over these 8 days, more than 9,000 attendees joined us at screenings in theaters and partook in other festival events, confirming the enduring interest of our audience in compelling, captivating, and vibrant cinema. This interest was shared by film enthusiasts, viewers, and industry professionals. This year, we presented an unprecedented 189 films representing 44 countries. We’re incredibly delighted to witness that the festival continues to attract filmmakers from around the globe,” said Alexei Uchitel, President of the Message to Man Film Festival.
MAIN COMPETITION PRIZES
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Golden Centaur Grand Prix and a cash prize of 240,000 roubles for Best Film of the Festival
“Will My Parents Come to See Me?” Directed by Mo Harawe. Austria, Germany, Somalia, 2022, 28 min.
Special Centaur Prize and a cash prize of 80,000 roubles for Best Director
“Twilight”. Directed by Vladimir Eisner. Russia, Germany, 2000–2023, 77 min.
Special Centaur Prize and a cash prize of 80,000 roubles
“Fragments from Heaven”. Directed by Adnane Baraka. Morocco, France, 2022, 84 min.
Special Centaur Prize and a cash prize of 80,000 roubles
“The Bitch”. Directed by Carla Melo Gampert. Colombia, France, 2023, 14 min.
NATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM COMPETITION
Centaur Prize and a cash prize of 50,000 roubles for the Best Film of the National Documentary Film Competition “for deep immersion in the suggested circumstances”
“Appointment”. Directed by Nikita Efimov. Russia, 2023, 82 min.
Centaur Jury Prize and a cash prize of 30 000 roubles “for an honest attempt to look into the maelstrom of reality”
“Circus”. Directed by Yana Reynson. Russia, 2023, 67 min.
Diploma “for musicality that lifts us above everyday life”
“Lenechka”. Directed by Renata Dzhalo. Russia, 2023, 52 min.
Diploma “for emotionality and intimacy”
“Mama America”. Directed by Anna Shveigolz. Russia, 2023, 6 min.
IN SILICO INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILMS COMPETITION
Centaur Prize and a cash prize of 80,000 roubles “for the best experimental film, where politics attempts to instrumentalize the body, and the artist reclaims subjectivity through art“
“Shanghai in the Spring”. Directed by Sun Xun. China, 2022, 11 min.
Diploma “for the film that serves as a warning about human as perpetual spectator-hunter, the virtuoso handling and exploration of the material, and the integrity of expression“
“Sliver Cave”. Directed by Cai Caibei. China, 2022, 14 min.
Diploma “for the film that serves as a reminder how human who picked up a camera for the first time documents a catastrophe, the fragility of memory, and the capacity to feel“
“Wild Flowers”. Directed by Karla Crnčević. Croatia. Spain, 2022, 11 min.
MEDIA PRIZE
Media Jury Prize “for combining traditional cinematic narrative with radical performativity“
“Confessions of a Good Samaritan”. Directed by Penny Lane. USA, 2023, 105 min.
STUDENT JURY PRIZE
Student Jury Prize “for a heartfelt journey to the roots and for giving the audience an opportunity to embark on a long voyage to self-discovery”
“Adieu Sauvage”. Directed by Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento. Belgium, France. 2023. 90 min.
Diploma “for the poetry and precision of the author’s statement, which inspires with its light and contemplation“
“Aqueronte”. Directed by Manuel Muñoz Rivas. Spain, 2023, 26 min.
SPECIAL PRIZES
Prize of Honourary President Mikhail Sergeevich Litvyakov and a cash prize of 50,000 roubles
to director Pavel Medvedev for the film “Chronicle of Reality”. Russia, 2023, 144 min.
Prize of Ilim Group, General Partner of the Festival
“Lenechka”. Directed by Renata Dzhalo. Russia, 2023, 52 min.
Prize of Znanie Society, Partner of the Festival
“Where Do Children From Hameln Go?” Directed by Daniella Rybakyan, Russia, 2023, 64 min.
ADDITIONAL PRIZES
Award of the Public Organization “Voices for Animals” “for the best work about human attitudes towards animals”
“Geographies of Solitude”. Directed by Jacquelyn Mills. Canada, 2022, 103 min.
The official closing ceremony of the 33rd Message to Man International Film Festival, which took place on October 27 at the LenDoc film studio, is available for streaming on VK social network.
Please the recording of the roundtable discussion in the Festival accounts vk.com/m2mfestival и youtube.com/@messagetoman6048. Stay updated with the festival news by visiting message2man.com, and follow the festival account at vk.com/m2mfestival and Telegram channel at t.me/message2man.
