Reality and animation—on the global market, cinema—at festivals: Gazprom-Media Holding’s speakers gave presentations at the Moscow International Film Week

Speakers from Gazprom-Media Holding and its companies took part in the business program of the Moscow International Film Week (MIFW) on August 26–27. The holding is a general partner of MIFW.

Tina Kandelaki, Deputy CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding, Managing Director of Gazprom-Media Entertainment Television, and Director of the TNT TV channel, moderated the International Media Projects and Opinion Leaders session, which was organized by the Insight People production center. Kandelaki noted that, today, Russian television demonstrates the best quality in the world, emphasizing that specialists from India, China, Latin America, and many other countries want to work with it. Insight People residents Anatoly Tsoш and Sasha Stone talked about their experience of participating in reality shows, including Sokrovishcha Imperatora, Stars in Africa, and others. The discussion participants came to the conclusion that cooperation between television and bloggers is mutually beneficial. For TV, it means new ideas and the opportunity to listen to the audience, especially young viewers, while for celebrities from social networks, it means a many-fold increase in audience figures and the opportunity to become opinion leaders and idols.

The festival’s business program also included a panel discussion titled Festival Fever: The Pulse of Contemporary Cinema, moderated by Yulia Golubeva, Deputy CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding. She emphasized that festivals help in understanding what cinema should be like, what the audience demands, the impetus that cinema gives to fashion, literature, lifestyle in general, and urban spaces, who the heroes of the film industry should be, and what problems there are in the industry.

According to the panelists, directors, screenwriters, and producers, including aspiring creators or talents from small countries, can make themselves known thanks to film festivals. At the end of the discussion, the speakers came up with a formula for a successful festival: a business component for creating new projects and concluding contracts, international interaction, and a festive atmosphere, as well as a presence in the content of ideas that change the world for the better. Separately, Yulia Golubeva noted the important role of a professional, impartial, and unbiased jury at such events.

In addition, a panel discussion titled Forging documentaries path from festivals to cinema halls took place on the sidelines of the MIFW. Ekaterina Vechkanova, Editor-in-Chief of the Unknown Russia TV channel and Director of NTV Television Network Department, spoke at the event. She shared the results of the Unknown Russia documentary film festival, which was organized by NTV, Gazprom-Media Holding, and the Association of Producers of Spectator Documentary and Corporate Cinema with the support of Gazprom PJSC and the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. A unique feature of the event, according to the speaker, was the opportunity for the winners to be aired on a federal channel in a short time.

The results of the festival showed that there is an insufficient number of documentaries about strategic and city-forming enterprises and a deficit of projects about the history of Russia. Both areas are of interest to the TV channel and the people of our country. Vechkanova also talked about the channel’s plans to collect five-minute clips created by young filmmakers and students for further broadcast on the Unknown Russia TV channel. The secret to the success of documentary projects is the involvement of young people in their creation, the speaker said.

One event within the festival business program was the round table event The path to success. How to launch a local animation brand on the global market, which was attended by Albina Mukhametzyanova, CEO and General Producer of YARKO animation company.

She noted that YARKO has the advantage of developing a wide pool of projects for different target audiences. This is also confirmed by foreign partners. The speaker cited the full-length animated film Doktor Dinozavrov by YARKO and Central Partnership as an example of a project that is planned for international distribution, in addition to TV series.

One of the sessions held on the sidelines of MIFW was India. The Perfect Mix of Dance and Action, featuring media manager and producer of the animation projects and reality shows Sokrovishcha Imperatora, Stars in the Jungle, and Stars in Africa, Lika Blank. She spoke about a joint Russian-Indian film project that is currently underway. The full-length movie King of My Dreams is a project from Gazprom-Media Holding, and the script has been worked on for two years.

According to Blank, it is a surprising yet expected mix for the Russian market, with a story of a fictional city where two separated antagonist brothers live and who unite to save the city. She emphasized that such stories, in which people love, split up, and feud but which have an obligatory happy ending, are in the DNA of the Russian viewer.

The business program was also attended by Konstantin Obukhov, General Producer of TV-3 and producer of TNT entertainment shows, who was a speaker in the International Media Projects and Opinion Leaders session and in the China. Cinematic wonder of the Celestial Empire country study. Obukhov explained how the show Challenge. Chinese Season was shot and how the relationship between the Chinese and Russian participants was influenced by mentality. He emphasized that such shows help eradicate stereotypes about people, among other things.

The second day of the business program ended with the session Co-production. Getting money on your side. The moderator was Vadim Vereshchagin, CEO of Central Partnership. The panel also included leading media industry representatives from India, Thailand, South Africa, Nigeria, and Brazil. It was noted that cooperation with international partners and the creation of global projects are becoming increasingly important today. This allows reliance on a wider audience. The support of national governments also plays an important role in this, influencing the choice of international partners.

The Moscow International Film Week is organized by the Moscow Department of Culture and the Creative Industries Agency. It is held as part of the Moscow: City of Cinema project of the Mayor of Moscow.