Golden Knight (Zolotoy Vityaz) film festival brought 270 new films from 20 countries
XXIII Golden Knight International Film Festival opened in Tomsk. Tomskers will be able to watch a huge number of 270 films from 20 countries reported Nikolai Burlyaev, the President of the International Film Festival and Golden Knight Slavic Art Forum.
"We have not had such shortlisting for a long time. We do not try to hit records, vice verse I always ask to reduce the number of films to show. Last year we demonstrated 150 films. How is it possible to watch them all? Anyway people would like to watch everything! This year we selected only 210 films for the competition, and 60 films for the non-competition program. Therefore the Jury will have to work hard, said Nikolai Burlyaev.
The festival opening ceremony was held the previous night in the Grand Concert Hall of the Region Philharmonia. A press-conference in the Grand Region Philharmonia chamber hall before the opening ceremony was held by the Golden Knight Board most of whom make the Jury. According to Nikolai Burlyaev, the experts from different European countries are ready to watch several tens of films daily for over a week.
"We have experienced people here, they are accustomed to work actively without leaving the hall. They are strict, and carefully selected. It is not like calling any Tom, Dick and Harry. They are real enthusiasts of our cinematography, the highest level professionals in the countries where they live and work", says Nikolai Burlyaev.
He stressed that Tomskers can watch any of these films along with their families and children as most of them will be shown in 19 cinemas in Tomsk and in 12 Region regions free of charge. The Golden Knight motto "For moral ideals, for human being soul rising!" and presence of an orthodox clergyman in the Jury makes the authors incumbent on the stringiest self-censorship. According to Nikolai Burlyaev none of the spectators who came to the festival will be offended or embarrassed with obscenity, cynicism or appeal to trashy feelings which often attributes to the mass culture products. The Festival program calls for 30-40 daily film runs of various duration.
Apart from the main program the film festival chairman presented participants from the brotherly countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria, Belorussia, Ukraine who are active co-authors of the festival.
"We're liked in Belorussia like nowhere else, only in Serbia. In Serbia there are ten questions out of 100 in the admission tests of the arts universities are about the Golden Knight", said Nikolai Burlyaev.
Alexei Kolesnik, head of Ukraine delegation and member of the Golden Knight Board, an Honored Artist of Ukraine, commented on the difficult situation between the two countries. He compared lack of understanding between Ukraine and Russia with love obstacles "that only make love stronger". In his opinion the Golden Knight is a bright proof of the unity of the brotherly Slavic nations.
Tomsk cinema-goers could see a real "star lane" of an international film festival. Prominent directors, actors and men of arts were met at the front stairs of the Grand Concert Hall as they ascended the red carpet. The guests from warm regions and countries were a little bit freighted by the Siberian weather as it was cold but by the night when the ceremony started it stopped raining and the sun shone. In the Grand Concert Hall not only actors but directors, film experts and theater teachers had to dispense autographs. During the festival the Tomskers will be able to ask their questions personally: the forum program calls for 3-5 meetings with the artists every day.
The spectators who came to the opening of the Golden Knight were most interested in a mute performance of a maitre: composer Evgeny Doga without saying a word personally performed his best works. The forum chairman stressed that Evgeny Doga is a Soviet and Russian composer recognized in the first 100 of the 200 best composers ever from Bach till present. The maitre left the stage to thundering applause of the hall.
Today the Golden Knight film festival will continue. So, at 10.00 o'clock a round table will start at the Pushkin Tomsk Region Library with the subject New State Culture Policy - resurrection of Russia. Meetings with participants of the film forum will take place in the village of Zyryanskoye and closed city of Seversk. At night a gala concert of the film festival participants will be held in the Grand Concert Hall. Besides Tomskers will be able to visit festival film exhibitions in the three halls of the Kinomir cinema free of charge.
