The results of the "Spirit of Fire" were summed up in Khanty-Mansiysk

The XXIV International Festival of Cinematic Debuts "Spirit of Fire", one of Russia's largest venues for young directors, has come to an end in Khanty-Mansiysk. The main prize of the show, the Golden Taiga, was awarded to the Spanish film "The Deaf" directed by Eva Libertad Garcia Lopez.

The silver award went to the film "The Shape of Momo" (India — Republic of Korea) directed by Tribeni Rai, the bronze award went to the film "Coin" (Italy — Serbia) Emiliano Dante. This year, 56 films from Europe, Asia, North and South America and the Middle East were presented in the festival's competition programs. The thematic focus of the screening was devoted to the theme "Children in the cinema" — various aspects of growing up and looking at the world.

In the competition of Russian debuts, the undisputed leader was the film "Cosmos falls Asleep" by Anton Mamykin. The film won several awards at once: the main prize "Golden Taiga" named after Sergei Solovyov, the audience award "Flowers of Taiga Hope", the award for best cinematography (Vladimir Borisov), the prize for best actor (Mark Edelstein), as well as a special prize "For the preservation of cultural traditions".

A separate event of the ceremony was the presentation of the prize of the president of the festival, Emir Kusturica, "For maintaining the creative fire in Russian cinema." It was awarded to Fyodor Bondarchuk, who stressed the importance of international dialogue and the presence of foreign participants in Khanty-Mansiysk.

This year's international jury includes Chinese screenwriter Lu Wei (chairman), Cameroonian actress and director Ndamo Damaris, Spanish film critic and producer Jaime Christian Noguera Martin and Serbian director Goran Radovanovic. The Russian jury was headed by director Andrey Proshkin, musician Evgeny Margulis, cinematographer Maria Solovyova, actress Alexandra Ursulyak and actor Leonid Yarmolnik.

An important part of the "Spirit of Fire" was the business program, which included discussions about the future of debut films, the development of animation and children's and family content. The participants discussed support mechanisms for young authors, the search for financing, international co-production and new distribution models. One of the key events was the plenary session dedicated to the role of cinema in shaping the values and worldview of the younger generation.

Founded in 2002 by Sergei Solovyov, the Spirit of Fire Festival remains an important entry point into the profession for young filmmakers and a platform for international cultural dialogue. Since 2023, it has been headed by director Emir Kusturica.