Khabarovsk hosted the final stage of the VII ArtMasters Championship for the main category

Khabarovsk hosted the defense of the finalists in the competence of "Animator Artist" and pre-defense for participants in the direction of "Playwright of Theater and Cinema" as part of the VII season of the National Open Championship of Creative Competencies "ArtMasters". 20 participants from different regions of Russia presented their projects.

"One of the key tasks of ArtMasters is to create a social elevator for young professionals and help them move from creative potential to professional realization. To do this, it is important to give them the opportunity to work with real industrial tasks and see the prospects for applying their skills. Holding the finals in the Far East is an important step in this direction. We want talented authors from different regions to be able to work with local topics, thereby helping the development of creative industries throughout Russia," said Borislav Volodin, Director of ANO ArtMasters.

For the first time in the history of the project, the final stage of the ArtMasters Championship was held in Khabarovsk at the site of the Creative Competencies Training Ground with the support of the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic and the Foundation for the Development of Social Initiatives. The participants had the opportunity to work with real creative tasks related to the Far East, its culture, nature and the development of the region.

"It is important for us that the development of creative industries in the Far East is accompanied by the emergence of new opportunities for young professionals. Therefore, this year, for the first time, we acted not just as a partner, but as a customer of the ArtMasters ecosystem and created tasks taking into account the specifics and needs of the region. This allowed us to attract talented authors from all over the country and give them the opportunity to solve real professional problems. We expect that the best works will be further developed and become part of new stories about the Far East," said Hasan Hasanbalaev, Deputy General Director for Social Development at the KRDV.

In the competence of "Animation Artist", the finalists presented their works for the defense. As part of the final task, the participants created animated greeting videos for the ASEAN countries for the Animur International Animation Festival. Before the defense, the finalists worked for several weeks in Khabarovsk on their projects, turning the competition assignment into full-fledged creative work.

A pre-defense was held in Khabarovsk for representatives of the "Playwright of Theater and Cinema" competence. The participants developed the final project in one of three formats — a fragment of a full-length film, an extended synopsis of a series, or a full-length synopsis of a play. A significant part of the finalists turned directly to the subject of the Far East. Amur tigers, Far Eastern locations and stories related to the nature and culture of the macroregion appear in their works.

The work of the participants was evaluated by a competent jury consisting of leading experts in the field of creative industries. Among them are playwright, screenwriter, editor—in-chief of the STV film company, member of the Expert Council of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Arkhipov; Evelina Yakubova, project manager of the Territorial Development Department of the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation; theater and film actor, film director, screenwriter and producer Alexander Karpilovsky; producer Maxim Potashnikov; producer, screenwriter and resident of the Expert Club MNM Sergey Vostrikov; screenwriter, journalist, creative producer, President of the Guild of Cinematographers of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia Alexey Aleshkovsky; producer of the Animation Studio "Dreamlet" Ilya Kuznetsov.

The championship includes two age categories: the main (18-35 years old) and the "Juniors" (14-17 years old). The competition takes place in three stages: qualifying, qualification and final.

The winners will receive cash certificates (1st place — up to 750,000 rubles, 2nd place — up to 500,000 rubles, 3rd place — up to 250,000 rubles), as well as opportunities for internships, employment and integration of work into real projects. The status of a finalist and winner of the Championship will be taken into account as an individual achievement when applying to universities in specialized areas of study.

The culmination of the Championship will be a gala concert on the New Stage of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater, where the official award ceremony for the winners of the main category will take place. The event will be attended by representatives of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, federal agencies and key figures in the creative industries.

The ArtMasters Championship is the main competition for creative industry professionals in Russia, including in the field of backstage and digital art. The main theme of the VII season of the competition is "The power of Unity. The art that unites." The project forms a pool of highly qualified experts and contributes to the expansion of the creative cluster, which corresponds to the priorities of state policy in the field of the development of creative industries and human capital. Graduates of the championship are in steady demand in the labor market.

The project is being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation. Over the past 6 years, more than 160,000 people have participated in the Championship, and this year over 30,000 people have applied for participation. More than 2000 people became finalists of the project.