“Spirit of Fire” Announces Participants and Jury for the Work-in-Progress Program

The XХIV International Debut Film Festival “Spirit of Fire”, which will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk from March 12 to 16, has announced the participants and jury members for the Work-in-Progress competition program.

The Work-in-Progress program is the festival’s industry section, where directors and producers present unfinished films to their peers. In addition to professional discussions, the program offers participants the opportunity to secure partner support for post-production and future distribution, establish new professional connections, and draw attention to their projects before their official premiere. The winner of the competition receives a grant to complete their project through the ‘Hometowns’ social investment program by Gazprom Neft.

Over the years, the program has proven its relevance. Films presented here have later been screened and recognized at Russian festivals. In 2025, the program received grant support totaling 1 million rubles.

This year, the Work-in-Progress program features nine projects. The selection includes both narrative and docu-fiction films. These films cover a wide range of themes, genres, and authorial styles. They range from social and family dramas to fairy tales, historical films, and docu-fiction road movies.

Participants in the Work-in-Progress Program:

• Car Service — directed by Ilya Noskov

• BO-BO — directed by Anastasia Kuzina

• Just Friends — directed by Marina Kaletskaya

• Another World — directed by Nikolai Kovalenko

• On the Edge of Childhood — directed by Vladimir Zakharenko

• When the Snow Falls — directed by Evgenia Gromova

• Northern Territory — directed by Maria Mits

• Snow Maiden — directed by Olga Dobromyslova

• Tickleman — directed by Sergey Fevralyov

The jury of the Work-in-Progress program includes Sergey Chliyants, screenwriter, producer, and director (jury chair); Yarina Sugakova, director of the ‘Hometowns’ social investment program at Gazprom Neft; Aleksandr Gorokhov, producer and VFX supervisor, founder of CGF Studio; Svetlana Maksimchenko, film scholar and producer, former head of the MosKino cinema network and the Cinematography Department at the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation; Viktor Prokofiev, film scholar, curator, and program director of the Saint Anna competition; Nina Romodanovskaya, editor-in-chief of ProfiCinema.ru and associate professor at VGIK.

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.