Workshop appreciation: NMG projects became winners of the Producers' Association Award

Contrary to superstition, the 13th APKiT Award ceremony has made many producers, directors, actors and employees of various major workshops of the film industry happy. The winners of the evening were "Dear Willy", "Chelyuskin. The first", "Lilies of the Valley. Such a tender love" and the animated series "Three Cats". The main social event was the rare appearance of the People's Artist of Russia Tatiana Dogileva. What is the secret of future audience favorites and who was recognized as the best by Russian producers this year — in the Izvestia article.

Who came to the Producers Industrial Award

This year, 168 projects and 1,035 industry professionals applied for the award of the Association of Film and Television Producers (APKiT). The final list includes 41 jobs and 68 professionals in individual categories. The winners were traditionally chosen by the producers themselves, the people who have been literally keeping the TV series and online movie market afloat in recent years.

Alla Sigalova in a lemon-yellow dress with oriental ornaments, Anya Chipovskaya, Alexandra Deten, Svetlana Ivanova, Anna Banshchikova, Nika Zdorik and many others were among the first to appear on the red carpet.

Tatiana Dogileva, who rarely attends social events, attracted special attention. The actress admitted to Izvestia that she usually avoids such outings, but for the sake of an UPKiT, she specially updated her wardrobe and signed up for a makeup artist and hair stylist.

— Now I really like that I shoot exactly as much as I want. But my love for the theater ended a long time ago," the actress told Izvestia. — I'm not at all interested in what's going on there today. Cinema is another matter. I really like our young artists — Vanya Yankovsky, Nikita Kologrivy, Sasha Petrov, Danila Kozlovsky.

Grigory Vernik and Polina Gukhman, one of the most talked—about young couples in Russian cinema, posed side by side. While the actress was talking to reporters, Wernick filmed her on his phone with the touching attentiveness of a man who seemed to be collecting a family video archive in advance.

The ceremony was hosted by Valeria Astapova and Karen Arutyunov. Between the announcements of the winners, they made jokes about producers, makeup, and artificial intelligence — understandable to anyone who has experienced sleepless postproduction at least once.

The first statuette of the evening was awarded to the series "Lilies of the Valley. Such a tender love" — Rostislav Korenblit was awarded for the best work of a sound engineer. The nominees were shown on the screen almost like at the Oscars, so the audience could watch the genuine emotions of the winners live.

Nika Zdorik, who was competing for the Best actress award, recalled how a year ago she did not have enough space at the table and watched what was happening through the door. Now the actress was already sitting in the center of the room as a full-fledged industry star. Although Maria Aronova won the individual category for "Old School," it was "Lilies of the Valley" that won the main prize in the "Best Online Series from Seven Episodes" nomination.

— I know that not only our relatives and friends are watching the live broadcast, but also the guys from the front line. Thank you for what you are doing," the actress said from the stage.

In addition, "Lilies of the Valley" received awards for original music, sound design and casting. The statuettes were taken by Vladimir Justus, Zhenya Trofimov, Ilya Anopriev, Rostislav Korenblit and Ekaterina Semina.

Soviet Guy Ritchie and Honoring Igor Zolotovitsky

One of the main events of the evening was the political detective story "Dear Willy". The film won in the category "Best mini-series", and the project "Dear Willy. True Story" was recognized as the best documentary series.

— Despite the adventure basis, "Dear Willie" is a very modern movie in spirit. It tells us about the events that are happening around us. It seems to me that the genre is such a Soviet Guy Ritchie," the director of the project, Vladimir Shchegolkov, told Izvestia.

Igor Prokopenko, one of the authors of the script, the inspirer and general producer of "Dear Willy", Deputy General Director for documentary and nonfiction projects at REN TV, admitted that he shot the first shots of the documentary back in 1992, and the last ones during the pandemic, when the heroes of this story passed away.

He dedicated the victory to Vladimir Tyulin, General Director of Izvestia, who celebrated his birthday on May 13; and then suddenly moved from cinema to reflections on the modern world.

— It seems to me that the fact that this story practically documents real events played a role. And in a sense, they have become a reference for today's international relations. Then people managed to ignore the stereotypes of the Cold War and come to an agreement," Prokopenko said in an interview with Izvestia.

Maxim Osadchy received the prize for cinematography for the series "Fisher. The eclipse." Screenwriter Andrey Zolotarev admitted to Izvestia that creating sequels is a real challenge for the authors.

— The second season is what all cinematographers dream of. But in reality it's hell and horror. The scariest thing is to try to surpass what has already turned out well," he said.

Three awards went to the creators of "Overheard in Rybinsk". Ivan Baranov won in the Best Screenplay category, Pyotr Todorovsky won Best Director, and Timofey Tribuntsev won the award for Best Actor in the series. Producer David Kocharov announced from the stage that filming of the sequel "Overheard in Vyborg" would start in the summer.

"Three Cats" was again recognized as the best animated series. The authors of the project said that they once tried to create a series using artificial intelligence, but the programs refused to generate a family of kittens due to too high brand awareness. As a result, the series has already won the seventh APKiT award in its category.

— You know, we animators are like goblins and elves: everyone knows them, but no one usually sees them. I am glad that I was finally invited to the stage for my seventh victory. In general, there are several hundred people standing behind me," said animation director Dmitry Vysotsky.

One of the most emotional moments of the evening was the celebration of Igor Zolotovitsky, who posthumously received the award for Best Supporting Actor in the series Shakespeare Street. The audience greeted him standing up.

— It seems to me that I could already write a study on the topic "The image of the Gypsy people in the life of Igor Zolotovitsky." Dad is gone, but we continue to receive his awards. We don't have a family photo hanging in our country, but a picture of dad in a gypsy costume with actors playing his children," Alexei Zolotovitsky, the actor's son, joked from the stage.

Igor Vernik presented the prize for the best supporting actress to his colleague at the Moscow Art Theater, Anya Chipovskaya. The best feature film was "Father 2. Grandfather", and the victory in the category "The best online series from one to six episodes" was won by another NMG project, Chelyuskin. The first ones."

After the ceremony, industry representatives went to the afterparty to listen to Lera's concert, discuss new shoots and make plans for future seasons. Although the UPKiT is considered a purely industrial award, this evening the producers honored not colleagues, but loved ones. After all, they are all united by the belief that cinema is still capable of uniting a huge country.