NMG and the Higher School of Economics Film Institute have signed a cooperation agreement

On September 30, the Film Institute of the HSE Faculty of Creative Industries and the National Media Group (NMG) signed an agreement on cooperation in training creative personnel for the film industry.

As part of the partnership, NMG will support students' project activities, including the production of students' theses, which will become an important part of their portfolio for further careers in the industry.

Currently, 240 undergraduate and graduate students are studying at the Film Institute. In 2026, the Institute will graduate 51 masters degrees in screenwriter, director and producer. As part of the diploma defense, future specialists will present 42 works created under the guidance of experienced teachers and practitioners.

In addition, students enrolled at the Film Institute will have a unique opportunity to present their work to key NMG producers and receive constructive feedback. Students and graduates of the Institute will also have the opportunity to practice and participate in project activities in such holding companies as CTC, Domashny, Fifth Channel, REN TV, Wink online cinema, as well as in the production studios NMG Studio and Art Pictures Vision.

"The HSE Film Institute presents a completely new approach to film education. The Institute's profile is training specialists for the mass audience content industry for film distribution, online platforms and television," said Alexander Akopov, director of the HSE Institute of Cinema, producer.

He also noted that the innovative training program for screenwriters, editors, directors and actors at the Institute of Cinema is constantly being improved, taking into account the experience of the world's leading film schools. Member companies of the Association of Film and Television Producers of Russia (APKIT) participate in the development and implementation of the Institute's educational programs, and leading Russian screenwriters, directors, actors and producers participate in evaluating the work of applicants and students, which allows students of the Institute of Cinema to become part of the industry already during their studies.

"The National Media Group has been consistently working on building a system for attracting and developing creative staff for a long time. Today, we are collaborating with well-known, well-established "star" professionals on the market, as well as with aspiring authors, investing in the future of NMG and the media industry as a whole. We hope that cooperation with the Film Institute will bring new bright ideas and products and open up new names," said Svetlana Balanova, Director General of NMG.

The National Media Group is Russia's largest private media holding. NMG manages a diversified portfolio of assets in the field of production, distribution and monetization of high-quality information and entertainment content in all consumer environments.

Among the key assets of the holding are the leaders of the Russian media market: on—air TV channels — REN TV, Channel Five, CTC, Domashny, Che, CTC Love, CTC Kids; multimedia information center of the Izvestia News Center (as part of the portal IZ.RU , the newspaper Izvestia, the Izvestia TV channel, the news services of the REN TV channels and "Fifth"); newspapers — "Sport-Express", "Business Petersburg". The Group owns a block of shares in Channel One. The holding company is the owner of NMG Studio.

In 2019, NMG launched an online service more.tv , and in June 2023, completed a deal to combine more video services.TV and Wink in the framework of a joint venture with PJSC Rostelecom. In November 2022, the holding announced the creation of the film distribution company NMG Film Distribution. In January 2024, NMG launched NMG DOCK, a single platform for the production and distribution of works in the non—fiction genre. In April 2024, NMG and RDIF agreed to invest in the creation of a joint commercial fund for the development of cinema and animation.

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Earlier, on May 8, NMG and media corporations of China (China Media Group — CMG) signed a cooperation agreement. The document was signed during the visit of the Chinese delegation to the Russian Federation for the celebrations dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was reported that the parties will also engage in joint production of content.

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