SPIRIT OF FIRE
WEDNESDAY 14. 18: 00H.
Held in Janti-Mansisk, in Yugra (Siberia), 'Spirit of Fire' is Russia's main debut film festival and one of the world's most important competitions dedicated to new filmmakers. It was founded in 2002 on the initiative of the director Sergéi Soloviov, winner of the Silver Bear of the Berlinale and the Grand Prix of the Jury of the Venice Festival, one of the most prominent and personal figures of Soviet and Russian cinema. Soloviov presided over the festival continuously for almost two decades.
Since 2023, the president of the festival is the internationally renowned filmmaker Emir Kusturica, one of the only nine directors of history who have twice obtained the Golden Palm of the Cannes Festival, as well as being awarded the Silver Bear of Berlin and the Silver Lion of Venice.
In addition to its special programs, the festival has three main competitions: International Competition, Russian Debuts and Debut Short films, the latter considered an essential part of its programming. Throughout its twenty-five years of history, the festival has hosted debuting directors from more than thirty countries, including Paolo Sorrentino, Lenny Abrahamson, Pablo Berger, Sergio Tréfaut, Valerio Mieli and Beneddek Fliegauf, all later converted into filmmakers of international recognition.
In March 2027, the festival will hold its 25th edition.
Programme selection manager: María Zveeva
Member of the Russian Film Dramaturgos Guild, the Russian Film Union and the European Film Academy, he was Vice President of the Confederation of Cineast Unions of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Vice President of the Russian Society of Audiovisual Rights Owners.
In 1995 he was part of the Jury of the Cannes Film Festival and, in 1999, the Jury of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Since 2000 she has been a founder, vice president and programming director of the International Film Festival of Debut Spirit of Fire.
Ghost
Duration: 16 min
Address: Timur Djuraev
Year of production: 2024
Overview: It tells the story of an old man in bed who must face the ghosts of his childhood and some disturbing memories that turn his nightmares into a terrifying reality. The film is the first feature film made entirely independently by Timur Djuraev, a filmmaker formed at the State University of Film and Television in St. Petersburg and at the prestigious Higher Courses for Writers and Directors in Moscow.
Katia and Alina
Duration: 13 min
Address: Kristina Panova
Year of production: 2024
Overview: Two girls who spend a hot summer day exploring the surroundings of their neighborhood meet a mysterious woman who asks for help to transport mirrors to her apartment. What begins as a childhood adventure results in an unexpected encounter. Kristina Panova, a former advertising creative, has been consolidated as one of the emerging voices of Russian cinema after obtaining various recognitions for her early works.
The girl of milk
Duration: 17 minutes
Address: Olga Dobromislova
Year of production: 2025
Overview: This work addresses, from a look between psychological and fantastic drama, the relationship between a mother and her daughter. After the child's birth, the mother's absolute dedication ends up taking on a disturbing character when she feels that she is completely consumed. Olga Dobromislova, a journalist and director formed in the Higher Courses for Writers and Directors, continues with this work a trajectory that has already aroused the interest of international festivals.
Moiras
Duration: 15 min
Address: Milana Ohing
Year of production: 2025
Overview: Four young people remain locked up in a clandestine sewing workshop. During the foreman's birthday there is an opportunity to escape, but only one of them can achieve physical freedom. From that moment on, you must find out if you are also able to be mentally free. The short film presents an intense reflection on freedom, trauma and the ability to break the invisible chains that condition existence.
Once upon a time there was an old story
Duration: 18
Address: Nikita Lichev
Year of production: 2026
Overview: reinvent the universe of classic stories. Karina works at a children's club in a mall playing Red Riding, every day until one day fiction seems to break into her own life. It is the debut as director of Nikita Lichev, recognized so far for his work as director of photography in selected productions at festivals such as Rotterdam, Rainance or FID Marseille.
Santa Bárbara
Duration: 19 min
Address: Polina Kapantina
Year of production: 2025
Overview: Delicate story about a girl who tries to emotionally awaken her mother while both spend a few days in a country house. Her only company is the virtual assistant Alice, whose presence brings a contemporary counterpoint to a narrative about solitude, imagination and the need for communication. Polina Kapantina graduated from the VGIK under the supervision of the legendary director Sergéi Soloviov and belongs to the new generation of Russian filmmakers from the historic Moscow film school.
