The 30th anniversary edition of the Message to Man International Film Festival will take place on September 11 – 19, 2020 in St. Petersburg, Russia!
The last three decades saw the history of our film festival, from the very first exalted celebration held during perestroika to impressive modern-day premieres on St. Petersburg’s Palace Square and master classes taught by the greatest film directors, attracting hundreds of people.
Just take a look at the list of last year’s winners to understand the place the film festival has taken in Russia and the world. The main competition winner was Luke Lorentzen’s Midnight Family (USA), which later made it to Oscar’s shortlist. The Best Début prize was awarded to Honeyland (North Macedonia) directed by Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska that received not one, but two Oscar nominations. The national competition winner, Ksenia Elyan’s 'How Big Is the Galaxy?', was featured at dozens of film festivals. There have also been feature and animation shorts from all over the world.
In recent years, The In Silico competition of experimental films has evolved into the festival’s most popular program. Honorary awards have been given out to Werner Herzog, Ulrich Seidl, Claude Lanzmann, Paolo Sorrentino, Isabelle Huppert, Udo Kier, and many other friends and guests of the festival in its 30-years of history.
We are getting ready to celebrate Message to Man’s 30th birthday and look forward to receiving your new films.
Join the party!
International Competition
• Golden Centaur Grand Prix and USD 3000 for best film*
• Centaur Prize and USD 1000 for best full-length documentary film
• Centaur Prize and USD 1000 for best short documentary film
• Centaur Prize and USD 1000 for best short fiction film
• Centaur Prize and USD 1000 for best short animated film
• Centaur Prize and USD 1000 for best debut film**
In Silico International Competition of Experimental Films
• Centaur Prize and USD 1000 for best experimental film
National competition
• Centaur Prize and RUB 30000 for best full-length documentary film
• Centaur Prize and RUB 30000 for best short documentary film
• Centaur Prize and RUB 20000 for best debut film**
*If a film receives the Golden Centaur Grand Prix, the best film nomination in respected category is not awarded (for instance, if an animation receives the Grand Prix, the prize for best animated short film is canceled).
** A debut film is any film produced by a director while a student at a film school, or the first or second film of a director who has not received any special education.
