The XXIV International Documentary, Short, and Animated Film Festival «Message to Man» will take place from 20–27 September 2014 in St. Petersburg, Russia.From 20–24 September a special non-competitive programme called «UK — film faces» will be shown as part of the Festival. Film screenings will be held at LenDoc Studio Cinema, «Rodina» cinema and «Atagy» loft-project.
The programme includes archive films from the British Council Collection, filmed between 1940 and 1945, films made by children and young people within the framework of the «First Light» project, and a selection of the best short films made by amateur directors and recognized masters as well. «Atagy» will show a programme called «Random Acts», which includes short films made with the support of Channel 4. «Random Acts» is an experimental video that combines different art forms such as dance, visual arts, poetry, animation, acting and music.
Programme
The «UK — film faces» programme will open at the oldest documentary studio «LenDok» on 21 September at 6 pm in St. Petersburg. The opening will showcase a selection of archive films produced between 1940 and 1945. These films will give viewers a feel for the WWII years in the United Kingdom.
22 September, 3:00 pm The special «DetKino-2» programme will present films directed by British children and teenagers as part of the «First Light» project. This film screening will take place at «Rodina» cinema.
23 September, 5:00 pm «Rodina» will re-run the archive films from the British Council Collection.
24 September, 3:00 pm Viewers will see a collection of the best contemporary short films «Short meters» from the UK.
This part of the «UK — Film Faces» programme is devoted to short fiction and animated films. Both of these genres have a special place in British cinema. Shorts in the UK are usually made by students and professional directors. For example, masters such as Andrea Arnold and Lynne Ramsay won recognition because of their short films. Every year the «Message to Man» festival receives 300 applications from the UK.
24 September, 6:00 pm «Atagy» loft-project invites everyone to participate in the «Random Acts» programme. «Random Acts» is a collection of short music videos made with the help of the British Channel «Channel 4». The programme includes a wide spectrum of artistic experimentation including dance, visual arts, poetry, animation, acting, music and even comedy.
About the Festival
The International Festival of documentary, short, game, animation and experimental films «Message to Man» started in Leningrad — St. Petersburg in 1989. In 2013, the festival was also held in Moscow. Nowadays, the festival is organized with support from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg City Administration, the Committee of Culture of St. Petersburg, the Russian Filmmakers’ Union, and the Federal Foundation for Social and Economic Support of National Cinematography. The festival was established by documentary filmmaker Michael Litvyakov who is now honorary president. Since 2010, Alexei Uchitel has acted as president of the festival. He is a director of documentary and feature films and also recognised as a National Artist of Russia.
The layout of the festival, the participants, and the competition, which combines documentary, animated and short feature films is what makes «Message to Man» different from many other film events in Russia. The hallmark of the festival is a great selection of films. The festival only selects exceptional works that can be called real masterpieces. The festival programme traditionally represents different genres, styles and directing methods, which means that you can see both classical approaches and daring visual experiments. «Message to Man» is a reflection of the various influences on our lives, it is an understanding of reality by means of independent cinema. Since 2011, in addition to international and national competitions the «Message to Man» festival programme has included an experimental film contest called «In Silico».