The XXI International Debut Film Festival «The Spirit of Fire» closed in Khanty-Mansiysk today. The first award presented on stage of the Big Hall of Yugra-Classic Concert Center went to the winner of the International competition program of children and teenager films «Your Cinema». This program is almost as old as the festival itself, for many years it existed as a club of children and teenager films inside «The Spirit of Fire” program. Now, as a competition program, it showcases international and Russian premieres of films from all over the world, made for audiences between the ages of 6 and 16.
The program curator Ekaterina Bordacheva and her Chilean colleague, the creative director of the Eye of the Fish Children Film Festival, Alejandra Fritis, came on stage to present the award. Together they announced the winner of the competition program, selected by the children and teenagers jury — the film “Sweet Potato Flavored Ice Cream”, directed by Wang Chong (China).
It is a touching story of a little boy Biubiu who has to spend the holidays with his grandmother and uncle in a village where he has never been before. Life is completely different there – they even make him eat fried insects! What’s even worse, boys from the village don’t want to play with him. Biubiu must stand for himself, and soon he finds true friends.
Wang Chong came on stage, exclaiming «Thank you!” three times in Russian and told how much he liked Khanty-Mansiysk, its people and children, and that he would definitely come here again.
Another award – from the International Film Market and Film Business Forum – was awarded to Manish Saini film “Gandhi & Co” (India).
«This festival is distinguished by the fact that that our films were screened not only here, but also in Surgut and Nizhnevartovsk. Also, both adults and children were impressed by the workshop «A Puppet-Animated World Inside a Feature Film», which was conducted by the makers of the musical fairytale “A Tinderbox vs. a Magic Well” the film director and composer Andjei Petras and the producer Anastasia Razlogova. Many thanks to them!» – said Ekaterina Bordacheva.
