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The 21^st Spirit of Fire International Film Debut Festival is dedicated to the culture of the world’s Indigenous peoples. India is the first country to be invited as an official guest this year. The festival’s business programme included a film dialogue titled ‘Russia–India. Overlapping Points of Mutual Interest’, which focused on industrial cooperation.

“Russia has longstanding friendly ties with India. This year, the organizers of the Spirit of Fire festival set the goal of attracting specialists in the film industry and ethnic cinematography in an effort to develop cooperation and international partnerships. The intergovernmental agreement that was signed on joint film production will enable us to create effective joint projects,” Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.

During the discussions held as part of the business programme, Yugra Governor Natalya Komarova spoke about uniting the audiences of the two countries, creating a foundation for future Russian-Indian films, as well as business opportunities for collaboration between the two film industries.

“The Spirit of Fire Film Festival is one of the core brands that people know and will get to know around the world. We are doing our best to maximize its recognition. We are also actively expanding the region’s capabilities in cinema and film production. We are creating a system to support these projects and new programmes for the development of young talent. Of course, we are studying and utilizing the experience of other countries and regions, and as such, we believe we are moving forward in developing what our own festival offers. This year, we have placed a great emphasis on the film dialogue with India, the guest country of our film festival,” Komarova said.

The business programme events featured a discussion of prospects for co-production and sharing experience in creating international projects. Producers Guild of India CEO Nitin Tej Ahuja and Cultural Attaché of the Indian Embassy in Russia Phurpa Tsering took part in the plenary session ‘The Cinema of Tomorrow: Industry Partnership and Ethnocultural Diversity’. The session ‘Ethnic Cinema with an Arctic Flavour. A Modern Miracle’ was attended by the Pune Festival President Jabbar Patel, while Growth Consultant M&E Industry Vikramjit Roy and India Take One CEO Pravesh Sahni took part in the film dialogue ‘Russia–India. Overlapping Points of Mutual Interest’. 

“I would like to express my special gratitude to the organizers of the festival and our new friends. Today, the Spirit of Fire festival platform is demonstrating its hospitality to those who are aspiring to the film industry for the first time. I firmly believe that the unique national traditions of Russia and India will contribute to the mutually beneficial development of ethnic cinema as an important sector of the creative industries,” Ahuja said.

“Thanks to the festival’s business programme, we were able to hold a productive cinematic dialogue on the formation of an ecosystem to successfully enhance the creative potential of young talents who are seeking to highlight the identity of Indigenous peoples. The Spirit of Fire has become a new point of contact between the film industry of Russia and India. The joint development of content for today’s audiences will promote cross-cultural collaboration,” said Roy, an independent development consultant who has experience in global collaboration.

The Roscongress Foundation served as the communication partner of the 21^st Spirit of Fire International Film Debut Festival.

The broadcast partner is the social network VKontakte. 

06.03.2023