The business program of the Unknown Russia Festival will bring together industry professionals

From March 19 to 26, Moscow will host the International Documentary Film Festival (III All-Russian Documentary Film Festival) "Unknown Russia", which this year for the first time expands the format to international. In addition to competitive screenings, the festival will present a large-scale business program: a space of professional dialogue for directors, producers, representatives of digital platforms, the blogosphere, the publishing market and specialized institutions.

The venues of the business program will be the Moscow House of Books and the Khudozhestvenny Cinema. During the week, 14 events are planned, ranging from industrial discussions and professional sessions to book lectures, presentations and pitching projects. The program is built as an interdisciplinary platform where cinema is discussed in conjunction with literature, new media, the blogosphere and technology.

"Today, documentary films are not only an artistic statement, but also a tool for public dialogue. We are creating a space where authors, producers, digital platforms and publishers meet to form a new ecosystem of non—fiction content together — open, technological and viewer-oriented," said Vyacheslav Goldfeld, President of the festival.

The business program will open on March 20 with the discussion "Cinema after AI?", dedicated to the impact of artificial intelligence on the creation, production and distribution of audiovisual content. Participants will discuss how new technologies are transforming the industry and what opportunities open up for documentary filmmakers. On the same day, a discussion will be held on "Reflection of the Russian cultural code in cinema" about why it is important to reflect real cultural processes within Russia and whether it is possible to form a national cultural code through cinema.

On March 21 and 22, the program will focus on the intersection of documentary filmmaking with the book market and digital formats. As part of the book lecture, Denis Sharko, CEO of the Sync Lab music laboratory, music producer of TNT and Comedy Club Production, will talk about the role of music production in the film industry, and film critic Daniil Smolev will immerse participants in the work of Lars von Trier. A separate section will be devoted to the phenomenon of true-edge, its transformation in literature and documentary films. The business program will also include a demonstration of the most impressive documentary projects created with the support of the Institute for the Development of the Internet.

On the same days, meetings and discussions with the authors of digital content will take place. The participants will discuss the role of blogging videos in popularizing the working and engineering professions, as well as new formats of documentary projects in the blogosphere. The meeting "Discovering an unknown Russia" will bring together bloggers who talk about the country through digital platforms.

On March 23, the program will be devoted to the industrial agenda. During the "Documentary Film Promotion" session, participants will discuss the possibilities of documentary film producers in the context of declining interest on online platforms in licensing films for screening.

On March 24, the program includes a book lecture by screenwriter and film critic Vsevolod Korshunov, followed by a round table "Documentary Films in the Russian Festival landscape", where industry representatives will discuss the place of non-fiction films in the structure of Russian film screenings, film promotion mechanisms and opportunities for authors at regional and federal venues.

The culmination of the industrial block will be on March 25. The Khudozhestvenny Cinema will host a plenary discussion "Time for new opportunities for non-fiction films in Russia." The participants will discuss strategic prospects for the development of Russian documentary filmmaking, mechanisms for supporting authors, and the role of new media in generating viewer interest. Among them are Roman Karmanov, General Director of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives, Anastasia Chernobrovina, Adviser to the President of the Russian Geographical Society on Information Policy, Alexey Goreslavsky, General Director of the Institute for Internet Development, Ella Tukhareli, General producer of the Regional Cinema Support Fund, and Georgy Prokopov, General Director of the Moskino ANO.

The business program will continue with a discussion on "The role of video content in popularizing geographical discoveries and natural attractions in Russia." The discussion will be followed by a pitching of documentary projects on the topic of geography.

Kirill Ashumov, producer of documentary projects and creative producer of Wink, Olga Filonova, lead producer of the Russia: A Look into the Future contest, Director General of the FPRK production Center, Ekaterina Vulfovich, creative producer of the documentary direction of the PREMIER online cinema and the national video hosting Rutube, Ekaterina Stroganova, producer of the documentary film Department at Gorky Film Studio, Director General Dmitry Yakunin, Director of the Muvistart Production Center, Editorial Director DOC.ru Alexey Fedorko, editor-in-chief of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Internet Development Institute" Tatiana Matveeva, film director and editor of the channel "Unknown Russia" Elena Nemykh and other experts.

Pitching "Unknown Russia" has already proven to be an effective tool for supporting authors. Last year, the submitted projects received not only professional expertise, but also financial support, which allowed them to continue production.

"It was the pitching of Unknown Russia and the festival itself that played a crucial role in the project and helped it reach a completely different level. Without this venue and the attention of the jury, the fate of the film would have been uncertain, and now our film has a very good chance of appearing on the big screen," said Sergey Merkulov, producer of the film Register of Life.