The 35th Message to Man International Festival of documentary, short fiction, animated, and experimental films will take place from October 17 - 25, 2025 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Over the years, the Festival has hosted distinguished figures of world cinema, including Werner Herzog, Ulrich Seidl, Claude Lanzmann, Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant, Artavazd Peleshyan, Agnès Varda, Mira Nair, Paolo Sorrentino, Alan Berliner, Eric Roberts, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Abdellatif Kechiche, Udo Kier, and many others.
The Festival programme revolves around three competitions: international, national, and experimental, providing a platform for both full-length and short films to vie for the Festival's Grand Prix. Message to Man consistently draws thousands of cinema enthusiasts to St. Petersburg each year. Last year, the Festival attracted over 15,000 spectators, and its competition and out-of-competition programmes featured more then 200 films from across the globe.
“The programmers of major festivals often hold the belief that competitions should not be overly strong and that a balance must be maintained between obviously standout films and those less prominent. Our programmers at Message to Man do not adhere to this general rule. As in previous years, we remain committed to seeking out exceptional cinema from all corners of the Earth and sincerely look forward to seeing these works among the submissions for this year’s competition,” says Mikhail Ratgauz, Programme director of the Message to Man Film Festival.
With its history spanning three decades of cinema development, Message to Man was founded in 1989 in Leningrad by filmmaker Mikhail Litvyakov, who now serves as the Honorary President of the Festival.
In 2010, Alexei Uchitel, a renowned director of documentaries and feature films, assumed the role of the Festival's President.
In 2025, the winners of the 35th Message to Man International Film Festival will be awarded in the following categories:
Golden Centaur Grand Prix with a prize of RUB 250,000 (2500 Euro) for Best Film: awarded by the international competition jury;
Three special Silver Centaur prizes with a prize of RUB 100,000 (1000 Euro) each: awarded by the international competition jury;
Special Silver Centaur prize with a prize of RUB 100,000 for Best Documentary Film of the National Competition: awarded by the national competition jury;
Jury’s special Silver Centaur prize with a prize of RUB 50,000 (with explanatory wording for a film in the national competition): awarded by the national competition jury;
Silver Centaur Prize of the Jury in the In Silico experimental film competition with a prize of RUB 100,000 (1000 Euro) for Best Experimental Film.
Additionally, special prizes and diplomas may be awarded by the Festival’s jury, organizing committee, partners, sponsors, and various public organizations.
