24/7 Tass 33
KALININGRAD, July 24 (Itar-Tass) — Nine films of young filmmakers from eight European countries participate in the contest programme of the Eighth Film Festival “Baltic Debuts”. It opens on Sunday in the resort city of Svetlogorsk on the Kaliningrad coast of the Baltic Sea, Itar-Tass learnt at the Ministry of Culture of the Kaliningrad Region.
According to the ministry, “the strict international jury will assess within a week debuts of directors, actors and cameramen from Poland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Russia, embarking on their film careers”.
Festival winners on the Russian coast of the Baltic – the only contest of debut films from countries of the Baltic region – will be awarded three prizes – 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 euros which will be presented at the closing ceremony of the festival on July 30. Russia is represented by the picture “Siberia, Mon Amour”, directed by Slava Ross, at this contest of modern cinema.
Svetlogorsk — the westernmost sea resort of Russia – has become for the eighth year running a place of cultural exchange and interesting meetings of filmmakers of the Baltic region; a place of contacts between “greenhorns” and well-known and beloved actors of theatre and cinema: Marina Yakovleva, Valeria Lanskaya, Iya Ninidze, Irina Shvedova, Yuri Chernov, Yelena Kondulainen, Alexander Tyutryumov, Arkady Inin and others.
Festival filmgoers will attend meetings with Alexei Petrenko, Natalya Varlei and Svetlana Svetlichnaya.
Sponsors of the Baltic Debuts – the Russian Culture Ministry, the Culture Ministry of the Kaliningrad Region, the Union of Russian Filmmakers and the Svetlogorsk administration – supplemented the festival with numerous interesting hors concours programmes, prepared for most diverse audiences. For instance the programme “Russian first nights” presents Russian film novelties. Incidentally, many pictures will be screened here for the first time in Russia.
On the other hand, the programme of Gosfilmofond (Eds: depository of old films for many decades) will show “oldies” of past years, produced in various countries and beloved by spectators of many generations.
In the morning of every festival day, young Svetlogorsk citizens and children from health-improvement centers and sanatoria which are in great numbers in the seaside city, will have their own programme “World of Animated Cartoons”. The Soyuzmultfilm Studio presents around 40 films for kids.
A special festival programme, “Remember”, is devoted to prominent Russian film actress Lyudmila Gurchenko, who recently passed away.
Film shorts by students of the Russian Film University (VGIK) will be also shown during the Baltic Debut.