SPUFT Students and Faculty Take Part in the 4th International Student Festival of CIS Countries

The event was organized by the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov. The festival was held as part of the project “Film Education: Joint Educational Projects of the CIS Member States.” SPUFT was represented by a university delegation.

Svetlana Melnikova, Head of the Department of Screenwriting and Film Studies, and Ekaterina Sazonova, Dean of the Faculty of Continuing Education, presented papers at the International Research and Practice Conference “Current Trends in the Creative Process at Contemporary Film Schools: New Heroes On and Behind the Screen.”

The conference provided a platform for leading educators to exchange experience and identify common ground in the educational standards of film schools. Participants discussed contemporary approaches to training filmmakers, the transformation of the hero’s image in cinema, and the impact of technological tools on the creative process.

“Following the conference, the participants emphasized the importance of inter-university and international dialogue, as well as the exchange of experience between film schools and festival venues. They stressed that creative experiments, including work with artificial intelligence, should develop alongside the preservation of authorship and the traditions of film education. The participants expressed their interest in continuing such meetings and expanding cooperation among students, educators, and film researchers. The conference concluded with a review of its outcomes and a shared understanding of the need to continue discussing the topics raised at future festival and academic events,” VGIK’s official press release stated.

On September 30, Antonina Stupnyova, a student of the Department of Screenwriting and Film Studies in the A. Ganshina and E. Zargaryan workshop, presented her research at the conference “Youth Cinema of the CIS Countries in the Context of the Development of New Media and Creative Industries.” Her study focuses on the distinctive features of the comedy genre in student films.

The conference featured two sessions that addressed a number of other important topics. Many participants noted the commonality of issues that concern contemporary viewers and filmmakers across the global film industry. The speakers clearly identified trends in national cinemas, as well as thematic connections that could form the basis for valuable cooperation among the CIS Countries in the future - both in joint distribution and film production.

The festival’s competition program included screenings of the following films by SPUFT students:

• More Than Love Among Them — directed by Kira Nemirovich-Danchenko
• Silence — directed by Gleb Limonov
• Fields of Chamomile — directed by Ekaterina Poirier
• Marusya — directed by Anna Volkova
• Tashkent Grove — directed by Olga Andrianova
• Something Is Wrong with Us — directed by Nikita Vikharev

A total of 50 student films from 13 film schools in seven countries — Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — were selected for the competition program. The results will be announced on October 2.

Photo: Fyodor Tverdyy