< 5th ARCTIC OPEN IFF – The Results>
The jubilee edition of the 5th ARCTIC OPEN IFF took place on December 8-12, 2021 in Arkhangelsk Region. During the 5 days, the audience was offered a total of 56 films on competitive and non-competitive selections. Screenings were held at 15 venues in Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk, Novodvinsk, Nyandoma, as well as the municipalities of Konosha and Severoonezhsk, Arkhangelsk Province. Viewers were able to follow the stories and themes that the film directors are concerned about today, at free (with exception of Severodvinsk) showings – a total of 131 film screenings took place during the festival. This year’s participants numbered more than 100 (based in Komi, Karelia, Chukotka, Nenets Area, Yakutia, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg and various part of Arkhangelsk Province, as well as Denmark, Canada, Germany, Turkey). The geography of this year’s festival included 14 countries: Russia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, USA, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Turkey, Portugal, France, Poland, Greenland.
The festival films were seen by 5,540 people. Screenings were followed by sessions with film directors, producers, actors, and moderators – a total of 72 sessions, of which 8 were held online and involved directors based in other countries.
ARCTIC OPEN In Figures
Festival audience (subject to 50% occupancy requirement and restrictions)
FILM SCREENINGS – 5,540 people
Arkhangelsk
Rus Cinema – 1,005 people
Mirage Cinema – 2,442 people
Lomonosov Palace of Culture – 110 people
Northern Maritime Museum – 184 people
N.A. Dobrolyubov Arkhangelsk Regional Scientific Library – 415 people
Stepanov Cafe Gallery — 240 people
Russian Arctic National Park – Visitor Center “Arctic Embassy” — 30 people
NArFU Scientific Library (social venue “Arctic Open – Barrierless”) – 60 people (including 11 people with special needs)
Care Home for the elderly and people with disabilities “Zabota” – 30 people
Arctic Outdoor Cinema: film showlings did not take place due to the inability to operate the equipment and inflatable projector screen at temperatures below -10°C.
Severodvinsk
TSUM Cinemas – 116 people
Center for Cultural and Social Events (TsKIOM) – 400 people
Novodvinsk
Druzhba Cinema – 386 people
Municipalities in Arkhangelsk
Premier Cinema, Konosha Community Center – 90 people
Severoonezhsk Community Center – 82 people
Zarya Cinema, Nyandoma Community Center — 60 people
More Than Films
Along with films, ARCTIC OPEN festival offers business events, cultural program and workshops. The key event of this year’s business program was the discussion venue titled “The Arctic: Safeguarding impossible to execute?”, attended by 260 people.
The cultural program featured exhibitions (“The Feel of Painting,” the art exhibition with audio descriptions for visually impaired visitors; “Fundamentals of 3D Interactive Installations”, the workshop and exhibition of interactive installations), performance by SPBCh Band, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, attended by a total of 2,346 people.
The training part of the festival involved multiple stages and almost one hundred people. One of the first events, the “Specifics of Stage and Film Acting” was attended by 21 people. Twenty more took part in the workshop as part of “The Feel of Painting” inclusive art exhibition. There was also the “Art of Cinema Moderation” and its contest for the area’s Best Cinema Moderator, which was attended by 20 people. Sixteen people learned the basics of vvvv sortware operation as part of “Fundamentals of 3D Interactive Installations”.
One of the landmark events of the film festival is documentary and popular science film idea pitching. Held for the third time, it involved 11 contestants. These are the main results of the first stage of the festival. Ahead is the Arctic Open Film Marathon, the program of the children’s animation studio, and participation in the cultural program of the VI International Arctic Forum “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue”.
