Until March 11 the commission will select up to 20 nominees in the main category and up to 20 nominees in the special children’s category to participate in the next stage – people’s Internet voting.

70 works took part in the Open Microfilm Competition of the International Debut Film Festival «Spirit of Fire»: 30 in the main category and 40 in the children’s category. This year’s theme is «Family Values». The winning directors will receive the prize at the festival’s opening ceremony on March 23.

Applications came from various regions of Russia – Ugra, Karelia, Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Leningrad, Moscow, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk regions and others. There are also microfilms of foreign directors.

Works were accepted in Russian and English, as well as in any genre: animation, drama, science fiction, documentaries and reportage films. Young directors tried their hand at comedy, video sketches, fairy tales, fantasy, social videos and even historical reconstruction.

The next stage in selecting the best microfilms will be a People Internet vote. The films selected by commission – up to 20 nominees in the main category and up to 20 nominees in the children’s category – will be posted on the page of the International Film Debut Festival «Spirit of Fire» «Vkontakte» https://vk.ru/ugrafest2024.

Anyone can take part in the online voting: it will take place from March 15 to 20. The expert council will also choose its favorite. The winner of the microfilm competition will be announced at the opening ceremony of the festival.

The cultural program of the «Spirit of Fire» was prepared with the assistance of the general partner – the Gazprom Neft company, which has been supporting the festival for 18 years. In 2024, the company will traditionally award the best Russian film in the special category «For the Preservation of Cultural Traditions». The Roscongress Foundation is the communication partner of the film festival.