NEWS
Summing Up the Business Programme of the International Short Film Days Festival
Photo: Press service of the Short Film Days Festival
December 19, 2025, Moscow
On 14 – 19 December, the Gorky Film Studio and the Art Centre of the Institute of Contemporary Art offered their venues for the business and educational programme of the International Short Film Days Festival, which brought together more than 50 experts, 1,500 off-line and 800,000 on-line viewers. The key topics of the business programme included the developing microdrama market, new technological solutions for the industry and broader opportunities for integrating debutants into the film industry. Soviet and Russian director and screenwriter Alexander Mindadze gave a master class which turned into an important event. The list of the business programme speakers included the world’s leading microdrama distributors Wenwen Han and Kasandra Yang (China), CEO of Kunay Film Karina Mia Satlykova (Turkey), actors Sofia Lebedeva and Yevgeny Kulik, experts Ivan Kudryavtsev, Susanna Alperina, Ekaterina Pshenitsyna, representatives of video services VK, Start, Wibes, as well as Institute Internet Development, Presidential Foundation for Creative initiatives (PFCI), Art Masters, Moskino, APKiT, Guild of casting directors, etc.
The main prize of the microdrama pitching session was given to the project “Mating Games” (authored by Natalia Volkova, Ivan Ponkratov, Valeria Yaskula). Commenting on the pitch results and the round table discussion dedicated to the development of the microdrama format in Russia, Vladimir Sivov, CEO of Lime HDI and the KinoLenta platform, noted: “It’s great that the genre of microdrama, which is completely new to Russia, is attracting such attention. At Lime HD, we believe that this format can become one of the 2026 trends in the Russian Federation and are ready to help screenwriters, producers and production teams create excellent projects of market demand in this.”
Meanwhile, experts believe that when forming the microdrama market, it is necessary to take into account Russian specific features.
Ivan Snezhkin, managing editor, Institute for Internet Development:
The main prize of the microdrama pitching session was given to the project “Mating Games” (authored by Natalia Volkova, Ivan Ponkratov, Valeria Yaskula). Commenting on the pitch results and the round table discussion dedicated to the development of the microdrama format in Russia, Vladimir Sivov, CEO of Lime HDI and the KinoLenta platform, noted: “It’s great that the genre of microdrama, which is completely new to Russia, is attracting such attention. At Lime HD, we believe that this format can become one of the 2026 trends in the Russian Federation and are ready to help screenwriters, producers and production teams create excellent projects of market demand in this.”
Meanwhile, experts believe that when forming the microdrama market, it is necessary to take into account Russian specific features.
Ivan Snezhkin, managing editor, Institute for Internet Development:
“
The format is new. It was quite difficult to assess the projects as our approach at IID is different. We strongly believe that any work should have social impact, but today we have not seen such works. The impression is as if the authors of the microdramas live in a different reality.
The organizers commented that next year, they will introduce a new nomination – microdrama – as part of the Debutant Pitch project held with the support of the Presidential Fund for Creative Initiatives with a total prize fund of 3.5 million roubles.
Read more about Microdrama Pitching Session.
Read more about Microdrama Pitching Session.
Photo: Press service of the Short Film Days Festival
The film start-ups pitching session shortlisted nine projects presented to the expert jury which included the opinion leaders of the Russian and international film industry.
The selection committee has cast the maximum votes to the KinoProfi and Timeliner platforms (7 votes each), the TOGO radio system for film crews (6 votes), the AMI location rental service (5 votes) and the radar.film and DIVO platforms (4 voices each).
Ivan Kudryavtsev, Director for Film Channels at Digital Television Media Holding, Programme Director of the Moscow International Film Festival:
The selection committee has cast the maximum votes to the KinoProfi and Timeliner platforms (7 votes each), the TOGO radio system for film crews (6 votes), the AMI location rental service (5 votes) and the radar.film and DIVO platforms (4 voices each).
Ivan Kudryavtsev, Director for Film Channels at Digital Television Media Holding, Programme Director of the Moscow International Film Festival:
“
We have seen an impressive level of ideas and projects at this pitch. These are not mere start-ups, but real solutions that are ready for implementation and scaling. Many of them have huge commercial potential, and I am sincerely glad to see such enthusiasm in the industry. New technologies facilitate and accelerate the creation of new products. For example, a friend of mine recently created his own task manager in just six days, simply following text prompts. This would have required an entire development team some time ago. Thus, no-nonsense competition and an increase in the number of interesting solutions are up ahead.
Read more about Film Start-Up Pitching Session.
Photo: Press service of the Short Film Days Festival
In the development of the topic, the round table discussion “Opportunities to promote new and experimental formats” was held, where Andrei Salnikov, producer of the first Russian VR series Dostoevsky 360, shared his experience in promoting the project:
“
Our series has triggered much interest in the Tokyo film market and will continue to participate in international events. An agreement has been reached on screening the series at the Dostoevsky Museum and on other venues. The project is a success and this determines the future of the format in our country.
As part of her master class “Forget what you’ve learned: The logic of short dramas”, Wenwen Han told about the experience of creating new series in China:
“
This is a new format that is currently on a huge wave of popularity in China. We were very happy that Russia also took interest in it. We were invited and got a chance to introduce it to you. I hope that the microdrama format will become equally successful in your country.
At the presentation of the Turkish film industry, it was said that family comedies and horror films are the most popular genres of films and TV series, and next year will see the release of Daria Lebedeva’s debut “You Drive Me Crazy”. Karina Mia Satlykova, CEO, Kunay Film (Turkey), producer:
“
Turkey currently ranks second in the world, after the United States, in terms of content exports – it competes with the UK. Sales keep on growing due to the great popularity of the actors and the format of Turkish TV series. In terms of joint production, Turkey is a truly unique country with a large number of locations and technical resources.
Within the framework of the round table discussion “Challenges and opportunities for young cinematographers’ integration into the film industry”, the MovieStart study was presented together with educational programmes offered by VGIK, Industriya, Higher School of Economics, ISI, Moscow film colleges, as well as the Kinoprofi platform and XOVP production.
The moderator of the round table, Evgenia Podobreevskaya, adviser to the director of the Moscow Centre for the Development of Vocational Education, cinema aspects, suggested creating an expert board of the heads of all Russian film schools to discuss the objectives of developing film industry related education in Russia. Dmitry Yakunin announced a directory that will appear on the MovieStart portal, which will include information about 55 educational institutions, 30 major film festivals with short film competitions, 27 pitches, 15 key grant competitions and 16 contests in the field of creative industries.
The moderator of the round table, Evgenia Podobreevskaya, adviser to the director of the Moscow Centre for the Development of Vocational Education, cinema aspects, suggested creating an expert board of the heads of all Russian film schools to discuss the objectives of developing film industry related education in Russia. Dmitry Yakunin announced a directory that will appear on the MovieStart portal, which will include information about 55 educational institutions, 30 major film festivals with short film competitions, 27 pitches, 15 key grant competitions and 16 contests in the field of creative industries.
Photo: Press service of the Short Film Days Festival
A master class by Alexander Mindadze, the master of Russian cinema, was held with great success. The director and screenwriter shared his experience:
“
Ideas are born in different ways. A story can unfold from a shortwrite, a newspaper line or a casual observation. It is important not to ‘make the things up’, but to be able to hear time – it spills out the plot itself through the author. Once on the shooting location, you mustn’t leave yourself an escape route. If something is not done, it later turns into a pain of missed opportunities. The plan must be lived out completely. There comes a moment when the characters ‘start speaking’ – and you start writing the text non-stop, sometimes even at night. It is important to take note of these insights right away – they may disappear in the morning.
The open casting of students and graduates of Moscow film schools and theatre universities saw 27 young actors presenting their portfolios. Actress Sofya Lebedeva commented on their performances:
“
It was very exciting to assess the sketches by young actors, as if I had returned to my years of schooling. All the guys are very talented. They gave us, the jury, a feeling of magic.
We address out special thanks to the casting directors Irina Lavrentieva, Vladimir Golov, and the VGIK students working to become Casting Directors for their help in the qualifying round.
Congratulations to the actors on their victory!
1. Arseniy Denisov @arseniyDenisov
2. Artem Balakhonov @balahonovv
3. Maria Vasilenko @VASILENKO_MARUSYA
Eight projects were defended within the framework of the Pitching Session of Moscow film schools’ debutants. The winners include:
3rd place – Alexey Kononov-Panin, "Never’s Not Excepted”
2nd place – Daria Makridina, “Koshchei the Immortal”
1st place – Dmitry Chirkov, “Love of Internal Combustion” (the most developed piece and suitable for implementing as a project)
Upon the end of the festival, non-commercial screenings will be presented in cinemas, theatres, universities, libraries, schools, on Internet portals, at museums, in co-working facilities and art venues in Russia. The Echo of the Festival will run from 21 December 2025 till 31 March 2026. In 2025-2026, at least 70 regions of Russia and 25 countries around the world will offer more than 700 venues for screening the films.
The International Short Film Days Festival is being implemented with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
Accreditation for the closing ceremony on 21 December:
Egor Lozovoyegor.lozovoy@insidepromotion.ru
Premiere timing:
16:30 – 17:00 Media accreditation
17:00 Welcome reception
18:00 – 19:00 Closing Ceremony of the International Short Film Days Festival
Address: Art Centre of the Contemporary Art Institute, build. 1, h. 8, BersenevskayaEmb.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
In 2014, the All-Russian Event Short Film Days was held in our country for the first time, coinciding with 21st December, the shortest day of the year. In 2022, the project received the status of an international film festival and was supported by the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives (PFCI). Such famous film makers and experts as Vladimir Khotinenko, Yuri Bykov, Anton Kalinkin, Ivan Kudryavtsev, Vladimir Kott, MariaLemesheva, Sergey Pershin, Alexander Tsypkin and others have sat on the jury over the years. Echo is a key feature of the festival, it offers a non-profit screening of Russian short films at more than 700 venues in 80 regions of Russia and 25 countries around the world. The screenings gather over 150,000 viewers annually.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZER
MOVIESTART PRODUCTION CENTRE
The MovieStart Production Centre was established in 2019 to support young film makers in Russia and promote various formats of author developed feature and non-feature films, such as short films, web series, film almanacs, social commercials, etc.
The centre was founded by Dmitry Yakunin, member of the Board of the Regional Cinema Support Fund, member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The main projects organised with the participation of the production centre include the Pitching Session of Debutants, the portal for young cinematographers MovieStart, the Moscow International Film Festival “Let’s Live”, the Script Writing Laboratory “Method” to name but a few.
Pitching website: cinemastartup.ru
Organiser’s website: moviestart.ru
Congratulations to the actors on their victory!
1. Arseniy Denisov @arseniyDenisov
2. Artem Balakhonov @balahonovv
3. Maria Vasilenko @VASILENKO_MARUSYA
Eight projects were defended within the framework of the Pitching Session of Moscow film schools’ debutants. The winners include:
3rd place – Alexey Kononov-Panin, "Never’s Not Excepted”
2nd place – Daria Makridina, “Koshchei the Immortal”
1st place – Dmitry Chirkov, “Love of Internal Combustion” (the most developed piece and suitable for implementing as a project)
Upon the end of the festival, non-commercial screenings will be presented in cinemas, theatres, universities, libraries, schools, on Internet portals, at museums, in co-working facilities and art venues in Russia. The Echo of the Festival will run from 21 December 2025 till 31 March 2026. In 2025-2026, at least 70 regions of Russia and 25 countries around the world will offer more than 700 venues for screening the films.
The International Short Film Days Festival is being implemented with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
Accreditation for the closing ceremony on 21 December:
Egor Lozovoyegor.lozovoy@insidepromotion.ru
Premiere timing:
16:30 – 17:00 Media accreditation
17:00 Welcome reception
18:00 – 19:00 Closing Ceremony of the International Short Film Days Festival
Address: Art Centre of the Contemporary Art Institute, build. 1, h. 8, BersenevskayaEmb.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
In 2014, the All-Russian Event Short Film Days was held in our country for the first time, coinciding with 21st December, the shortest day of the year. In 2022, the project received the status of an international film festival and was supported by the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives (PFCI). Such famous film makers and experts as Vladimir Khotinenko, Yuri Bykov, Anton Kalinkin, Ivan Kudryavtsev, Vladimir Kott, MariaLemesheva, Sergey Pershin, Alexander Tsypkin and others have sat on the jury over the years. Echo is a key feature of the festival, it offers a non-profit screening of Russian short films at more than 700 venues in 80 regions of Russia and 25 countries around the world. The screenings gather over 150,000 viewers annually.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZER
MOVIESTART PRODUCTION CENTRE
The MovieStart Production Centre was established in 2019 to support young film makers in Russia and promote various formats of author developed feature and non-feature films, such as short films, web series, film almanacs, social commercials, etc.
The centre was founded by Dmitry Yakunin, member of the Board of the Regional Cinema Support Fund, member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The main projects organised with the participation of the production centre include the Pitching Session of Debutants, the portal for young cinematographers MovieStart, the Moscow International Film Festival “Let’s Live”, the Script Writing Laboratory “Method” to name but a few.
Pitching website: cinemastartup.ru
Organiser’s website: moviestart.ru