Yura was everywhere: to whom and for what they awarded the "Nickname"-2026

The 39th Nika National Cinematography Award ceremony was held in Moscow on March 23. Almost two dozen awards have found their owners, and the main winners of the evening were "The Wind" and "The Prophet". For the first time, the ceremony took place without the traditional "talents" — the hosts were acting duets, and the central theme was family in the cinema. About the winners, the atmosphere and the main trends of the evening — in the Izvestia report.

Married couples on the red carpet

For one evening, the Mossovet Theater turned into a center of attraction for Russian cinematographers. The 39th Nika Award ceremony was held on the famous stage. Over the past two years, guests have gathered at the Mask Theater, where they walked along the blue carpet, but this time the creators of the main films of the year stepped on the red carpet and selectively communicated with journalists.

The evening's dress code suddenly took shape by itself: a black-and-white color scheme with occasional flashes of color. One of the first to appear on the track was actress Ekaterina Volkova. She chose a black lace "naked" dress for the ceremony. Pavel Priluchny and Zepyur Brutyan were the first among the star couples — they did not communicate with journalists. Director and multiple Oscar nominee Konstantin Bronzit followed the photographers. His animated film "Thrown Away" was among the nominees for "Nick", and the short film "Three Sisters" recently competed for the main American film award.

"The nomination is certainly an achievement," Bronzit told Izvestia. — It's like an academic title. No one can undo the fact that I am a three-time Oscar nominee. But, of course, it's a shame every time: you're half a step away from the finals and you didn't make it again. I talked to Spielberg, and he talked about his plans. We shared how well we had done, drank champagne. Then Leonardo DiCaprio came up to us and we had a drink with him too. Do you understand? This is the Oscar. Everyone is equal there.

Evgeny Tsyganov and his wife Yulia Snigir appeared on the path behind him. The actress chose a fitted milk-colored lace dress with metal inserts on the chest. Another couple of the evening is Yura Borisov and Anna Shevchuk. So far, the crew of the film "The Prophet. The Story of Alexander Pushkin posed for photographers, and fans literally surrounded Vladimir Mashkov in the hall, preventing him from passing. Every now and then, the clink of glasses could be heard, through which the sounds of the piano broke through. Among the guests of the ceremony is Vladimir Pozner, whose rare appearance in public was discussed no less than the nominees.

Cinema is a family business

The ceremony, as expected, opened with live music from the Chamber Symphony orchestra. On the screen is a series of faces that formed the story of "Niki": Bronevoy, Etush, Konchalovsky, Todorovsky, Yarmolnik, Ryazanov, Volchek, Nikulin, Yankovsky, Kobzon, Batalov, Churikova, Lungin. A memory assembled into a montage worthy of a separate award.

This year, Nika seemed to remind us that cinema is not only an industry, but also a kinship. The ceremony was divided into four blocks, each conducted by acting pairs. Angelina Strechina and Ilya Malakov were the first to take the stage. The young couple, with a slight self—irony, wished their family to live no less than the award itself. Yulia Melnikova and Pavel Trubiner are in the second block. Then Anna Shevchuk and Yura Borisov took up the baton, and Olga Sutulova and Evgeny Stychkin announced the main awards.

Organizationally, "Nika" has also changed: this year they abandoned the "talents". The presenters announced the winners themselves and immediately presented the statuettes. Thanks to this, the ceremony noticeably accelerated and acquired an almost televised rhythm.

The first award — for the best non—fiction film - was given to "To the Other Shore. Stanislavsky in a new light." Then they noted the animation — "Bulgakov" by Stanislav Sokolov. This was followed by a dense stream of technical and creative nominations, where the favorite of the evening gradually began to emerge. Best editing — Maria Likhacheva for the film "The Prophet. The Story of Alexander Pushkin". Best Music — Ryan Otter for the same film. The best sound is Alexander Fedenev for "The Wind". Camerawork — Danila Goryunkov, and again "The Wind".

This year, Nika presented a special prize for contributions to cinematographic science, criticism and education. The award was posthumously received by actor, director and rector of the Moscow Art Theater School Igor Zolotovitsky. The audience stood while the chronicle of his life was on the screen. The award was presented to the family by actress and singer Polina Gagarina and writer Evgeny Grishkovets: one studied with Zolotovitsky, the other worked with him on stage for a long time.

"You know, Dad would have made a joke of it. Especially the fact that I finally got a Nickname. I often told him to go to auditions. And once I even went instead of him. They put a "thickness" on me — everyone decided that this was how Zolotovitsky should look. As a result, neither me nor Dad were hired," his son Alexei joked from the stage.

"Nika" for victory

Felix Umarov, the director of The Prophet, became the discovery of the year. The award was presented by Evgeny Tsyganov in the makeup of his character from the movie "Batya 2. Grandfather." Umarov thanked the team and hugged Yuri Borisov.

— I can't say that this is my award — it's the award of everyone who created the film. "The Prophet" shows an artist who lived many years ago, but we feel that he is the same as us. This brings him much closer to us," Umarov confessed to Izvestia.

Elena Lyadova won the prize for her supporting role in the film "Blank Slate," and Vladimir Mashkov, accepting a similar male award for the film "Not on the list," unexpectedly turned his speech into a civil statement, handing over his nickname to the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation. He wished the fighters perseverance and the country victory.

The work of Peter Lutsik and Alexey Samoryadov for the film "The Wind" was named the best script. The award was given to director and producer Sergey Chliyants. He said that Lutsik had once given him a script during a game of preference - the notes were made right on the back of the text. Both authors are no longer alive, and this made the speech of the Chliyanets sound even stronger — as well as the four "Nicknames", including the main one, which the film eventually received.

Another special award, "For Honor and Dignity", went to Alla Surikova this year. The award was presented by Leonid Yarmolnik, whose film career began with her films. He starred in six Surikova films and, as he confessed, has since stopped playing criminals.

Andrei Konchalovsky's "Chronicles of the Russian Revolution" was recognized as the best series, a project that producer Anton Zlatopolsky called the director's magnum opus, a lifelong endeavor. While Konchalovsky was wondering how this story had even been published, Zlatopolsky said that in addition to the 16 episodes, the 17th episode had already been edited, which would soon appear on the platform.

The director's prize went to Bakur Bakuradze for "Lermontov". The best female role is Svetlana Kryuchkova: director Andrey Zaitsev came on stage, bowed to the actress and reminded her that this was her third "Nickname". Best Actor — Konstantin Khabensky for "Jura was Here", who admitted that he initially considered his work to be secondary.

— There is a myth that there are people with disabilities. Perhaps they have another myth about us. It is important to understand how much or little a person needs to be happy. I tried to imagine how much my character needed. And it turned out — much less than us. And then the question arises: so which one of us is with disabilities? — Khabensky told Izvestia.

By the end, it became clear that the main character of the evening was "The Wind". The film collected four key awards. Sergey Chliyants could not hold back tears as he accepted the statuette from Andrei Konchalovsky's hands, remembering his journey — the sea, injuries, years outside the cinema and the return, which, it seems, became the main theme of the film.

So this year's "Nika" has developed into a clear formula: cinema as a family, memory as a foundation, and "Wind" as the main outcome. The only irony is that the film still hasn't been released. The evening ended with applause, but the question hung in the air: will this winner see his audience?