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The ‘Soul of Russia’ International Festival of the Peoples of the North is being held as part of the cultural programme of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 14–17 June at the Lenfilm Studio. The Festival is part of the plan of events of Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023, which are being managed by the Roscongress Foundation. 

One of the highlights of the Festival was the pre-premiere screening of the documentary Yugorsk Novelettes, which was directed by Alexander Avilov and presented by the Spirit of Fire Academy. The film includes five short stories about young people who do not aspire to move to the big city and have consciously chosen to live in their ancestral lands or villages of Yugra. The novelettes ‘The Way to the Origins’, ‘My Land’, ‘Accept the Challenge’, ‘Wall-Less Home’, and ‘Remember the Old Tales’ depict the stories of people from different professions who love and honour their land and see the meaning of their lives in preserving the national culture, customs, and life of ancestors, as well as passing them on to their children. The protagonists of the novelettes are a keeper of ancient Khanty recipes, an air ambulance paramedic, a music teacher, a modern hunter, and a reindeer breeder/philosopher. The film was produced by the administration of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District administration, the Roscongress Foundation, and Rosneft.

The pre-premiere screening was attended by Yugra Governor Natalya Komarova, Roscongress Foundation CEO Alexander Stuglev, the film’s director Alexander Avilov, Gazprom-Media Holding Deputy General Director Yulia Golubeva, Russian Museum of Ethnography Director Yulia Kupina, and President of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the Russian North and Russian Senator Grigory Ledkov. 

“The Yugorsk Novelettes are ethnic films that serve as a contribution by the creative team and its partners to solving the problems of the [International] Decade of Indigenous Languages in Russia. In this film, the characters are not professional actors, but ordinary people. I thank the people of Yugra for their openness and hospitality. We are interested in developing this area of the film industry. We are ready to work towards this,” Komarova said. 

“The trend of filming documentaries about the regions is gaining momentum, as this is a really good tool for promoting the culture and customs of our country. The ‘Soul of Russia’ Festival is being held as part of the SPIEF, which once again emphasizes the importance of this project. I know that in the very near future the film Yugorsk Novelettes will be shown extensively at festivals, and in September it will be available for viewing by a wide audience on the Premier platform,” Golubeva said. 

“The film depicts the harsh beauty of the boundless North and the excellent work of non-professional actors. The film’s plot is about life in the North and each story offers a sense of the kind attitude towards our native expanses and our Motherland and about how our peoples preserve their original culture and way of life, hunt, fish, and herd reindeer, and preserve the traditions of their ancestors,” Ledkov said.

The movie theatre of the Lenfilm Film Studio is screening modern ethnic films about the culture of Indigenous peoples. The programme includes all the northern regions of Russia from the Arkhangelsk Region to Chukotka. Each film screening is preceded by presentations and a Q&A with directors and film critics. Animation in the festival programme is represented by an animado and collections of legends and tales of the peoples of the North of Russia from Suzdalfest. 

The ‘Soul of Russia’ International Festival of the Peoples of the North was prepared by the Social Platform of the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic and the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. 

The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East also has its ‘Arctic: Territory of Dialogue’ stand at the SPIEF. The stand’s business programme includes roughly 15 events, some of which were part of the plan of Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council, including: the session ‘The Northern Sea Route. Outcomes and Plans’, ‘Protecting and Monitoring Arctic Biodiversity’, ‘The Russian Arctic – Focal Point. Protected Areas in the 21st Century’, and ‘Filmmaking in the Arctic: A Dialogue between Nature and Technology’.

15.06.2023