The XХIV International Debut Film Festival “Spirit of Fire” Announces Program and Jury

On March 4, an official press conference for the XХIV International Debut Film Festival “Spirit of Fire” was held at the TASS press center. The festival will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk from March 12 to 16, 2026.

Participants in the press conference included the Governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Ugra, Ruslan Kukharuk; Anna Yarina, Director of the Cinematography Department at the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation; Mariya Zvereva, Vice President of the festival; Petr Shepotinnik, Chairman of the Selection Committee; and Elena Marinina, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation.

In 2026, the festival received 630 applications from 39 countries around the world.

A total of 52 applications were entered into the international competition, 464 into the short film competition, 83 into the ‘Russian Debuts’ program, and 31 into the ‘Your Cinema’ program.

Applications came from Australia, Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, Ghana, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Israel, India, Indonesia, Iran, Spain, Italy, Qazaqstan, Canada, Qatar, China, Colombia, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, the UAE, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sudan, the United States, Tunisia, Turkiye, Uzbekistan, France, Switzerland, and South Africa.

The Governor of Ugra, Ruslan Kukharuk, noted the strong demand for national content and for reflecting on cultural roots through cinema. In the Year of the Unity of the Peoples of Russia, the program includes a special section dedicated to the diversity of the cultures of the country’s indigenous ethnic groups. Special attention has also been given to the ‘Filmed in Ugra’ project, which features films created in the region.

The festival venues have also been expanded. The business and educational programs will take place at the National Center ‘Russia’ in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Anna Yarina emphasized that debut films remain one of the key areas of support for the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Special attention is given to children and family cinema as a tool for shaping the values of future generations. She also noted the steady international interest in Russian film festivals.

Mariya Zvereva announced that the thematic focus of 2026 is ‘Children in Cinema’. The program will include the international youth competition program ‘Your Cinema’, as well as educational events, master classes, and an animation laboratory.

A special evening will be dedicated to the Gorky Film Studio, featuring the Russian nationwide premiere of the film ‘The Adventures of the Yellow Suitcase’, presented by Yuliana Slascheva . There will also be a special screening of the film ‘Pinocchio’, presented by Fyodor Bondarchuk.

The cultural program will include the musical performance ‘From the Life of the Planets’ featuring Oleg Nesterov and the band Megapolis, the orchestral fairy tale ‘The Scarlet Flower’ with Kristina Babushkina, a concert by the band Bravo, and the concert-performance ‘Good Songs’ by Aleksandra Ursulyak.

The opening film of the festival will be ‘The Man Who Saw the Bear’ by Pierre Richard. Richard served as the film’s director, screenwriter, and lead actor. The executive producers are Ivan Samokhvalov and Gavriil Gordeev. The film had its first screening last year in Cannes.

The festival’s competition program is available at the following link.

Elena Marinina noted that the festival is becoming an important platform for international cultural and business exchange, as well as for promoting Russian cinema in the markets of the BRICS countries. For the second consecutive year, the festival will present the special award ‘Soul of Russia. World Cinema’.

The main prize of the international competition, the Golden Taiga, amounts to 1 million rubles. The Silver Taiga is 400,000 rubles, and the Bronze Taiga is 200,000 rubles. The Audience Choice Award, Flowers of Taiga Hope, is 150,000 rubles.

The Sergey Solovyov Golden Taiga Award for Best Russian Debut has been increased to 700,000 rubles.

Gazprom Neft will present a special award ‘For the Preservation of Cultural Traditions’ in the amount of 800,000 rubles.

The winner of the Work-in-Progress competition will receive a grant of 1 million rubles.

The Roscongress Foundation Award ‘Soul of Russia. World Cinema’ amounts to 800,000 rubles.

The Spirit of Fire festival is a leading debut film festival in Russia and abroad, and one of the main platforms for young filmmakers. It was founded in 2002 by People’s Artist of the Russian Federation and film director Sergey Solovyov, who served as the festival’s president for nearly twenty years. Since 2023, the festival’s president has been the internationally renowned director Emir Kusturica.

The Spirit of Fire festival is held with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. 

Since its inception, the festival has also received consistent support from the Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra. 

Since 2007, the festival has been supported by Gazprom Neft, which acts as a co-organizer of the festival and its cultural and educational program, and presents the award for Best Russian Film in the category ‘For the Preservation of Cultural Traditions’.

The festival’s communications partner is the Roscongress Foundation.