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.

• International Competition includes:

- Full-length documentary films (from 40 to 120 minutes)
- Short documentary films (up to 40 minutes)
- Short fiction and animated films (up to 30 minutes)

All films should have been completed after January 1, 2024. English subtitles are required for all films with dialogue unless English is the original language of the film.

• In Silico International Competition of Experimental Films includes:

- Short experimental films (no longer than 20 minutes) in any genre, which are technically suitable for screening in a regular cinema and were completed after January 1, 2024. English subtitles are required for all films with dialogue unless English is the original language of the film.

• National Competition of Documentary Films includes:

Documentary films up to 120 minutes by Russian directors or co-produced by Russian producers, completed after January 1, 2024.

Submissions are accepted from January 21, 2025 to July 1, 2025 (for films that are to be completed in 2025, rough cuts may be submitted for selection).

No fee is collected for applying to participate in the National Competition.

No fee is collected for applying to participate in the In Silico Experimental competition.

Application fee for the International Competition must be paid in the amount of:

20 EUR (or the equivalent in Russian Roubles at the rate of the Central Bank of Russia) for full-length documentary films (40–120 min);

10 EUR (or the equivalent in Russian Roubles at the rate of the Central Bank of Russia) for short live-action films (up to 30 min);

7 EUR (or the equivalent in Russian Roubles at the rate of the Central Bank of Russia) for short documentary films (up to 40 min);

7 EUR (or the equivalent in Russian Roubles at the rate of the Central Bank of Russia) for short animated films (up to 30 min).

Payment is made through the websites of online platforms when applying through those systems. The application is considered incomplete if there is no corresponding payment and, in this case, will not be considered by the selection committee.

Overall Rating
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  • Labuta Filmes

    It was an honor to have "Casulo" (Womb) showcased at the IFF Message to Man. What a captivating festival in the culturally vibrant city of St. Petersburg! Looking forward to presenting more films there in the future.

    November 2024
  • olivier grancher

    Excellent festival. I was able to follow discussions and events through a chat online. The closing ceremony was spectacular, I hope to be present in person next time. My special jury prize was handmade and customized by an artist!

    November 2024
  • Anosh Aibara

    Really honored and humbled to have my short film selected for the 2024 In-Silico Competition of the IFF Message to Man. The selected titles were amazing and reflect the depth of variety and the dedication of the festival runners to preserve and promote international cinema!
    Thank you once again for selecting my film, and looking forward to next year's M2M!

    November 2024
  • We are very proud for showing our anti-war short film HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE by Simone Fiorentino at Message to Man 2023!

    October 2023
  • Sofia Gutman

    What a great festival. I was very happy to participate with my film Night train. The festival team was very professional and well orgenized.

    November 2022