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On March 24, the TASS press center hosted a conference dedicated to the start of the application campaign for the XX International Vladimir Menshov Film Festival “Won Together”. Documentary filmmakers have the opportunity to submit their works to the festival competitions, and later participate in a large-scale distribution campaign in Russia, CIS countries and friendly states.
Andrei Belyaninov, Secretary General of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, which has been the main organizer of the festival for many years, began the event by telling how the project has grown significantly over the 20 years of the festival:
“Year by year the festival “Won Together" is becoming more and more popular and successful. It has changed the venue and expanded the geography of participants, finding new friends all over the world. For example, the active participation of African countries with their special vision of documentary, with their subtle social irony in their films was a discovery".
Andrei Belyaninov cited statistics: in 2024, films from 36 countries were selected for the competition, and in total, authors from 50 countries applied. More than 100 screenings and discussions took place during the festival.
“But the most important thing I would like to note,” he continued, "is that the festival organizers do not forget for a second about the main target audience. And this is the youth of all those countries that really won together. Young people from Russia, CIS countries and former Soviet republics see the festival as an example of how to respect and admire the common past. In a situation when even mature people sometimes feel helpless before the information flows around us, the truth about our historical past is important. And it is documentary cinema that allows us to cover events objectively. This genre combined with the business part of the project forms the right guidelines. This year the festival, I am sure, will again reach a new level, and we invite everyone to share this joy with us".
Chairman of the Council of Heads of TV and Radio Organizations of the CIS countries Peter Fedorov spoke about the great interest of the creative community of the CIS countries in media education and announced plans to hold working sessions of the Council during the festival.
“Not within the framework, but together,” he specified. - In the near future, official letters will be sent to the heads of the largest media companies of the CIS countries with an offer to participate and bring their works. Our country has a great past, the memory of it is alive, it is important and necessary to show it, but it is necessary to move forward with new initiatives of the festival level".
Svetlana Malinina, Head of the press service of the CIS Executive Committee, spoke about plans for 2025, which will be dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory. In the CIS countries it is declared the Year of Peace and Unity in the Fight against Nazism, within it there will be a photo exhibition of documentary footage from the fronts held, many youth projects will take place, medals will be awarded to veterans and cities of military glory. It is not the first year that the CIS Executive Committee has supported the “Won Together” Festival. This year the partners emphasized the necessity to promote the Address of the CIS Heads of State to the peoples of the CIS countries and the world community in connection with the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
Yuri Tavrovsky, Deputy Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society, reminded that Chinese directors and playwrights have participated in the festival since 2008, and the interaction between Russia and China concerns both episodes of military history and many joint projects in art, which form true values based on historical truth.
"To continue this tradition, we need joint cultural projects, and the festival has every opportunity for this. And let's not forget that documentary filmmaking is not so much about memories of the past as about the future."
Film director, screenwriter Sergei Debizhev, a member of the jury, noted that we are now experiencing “the most creative time”, we can press the “hot keys of the soul” of the audience, and therefore it is so important today to “expand the spiritual volume, which always lies in the sphere of faith, hope and love”.
“At festivals such as “Won Together“, one very important theme is discussed,” he believes. - Cinema is a tool that can be used to harmonize life, art works with huge masses of people, and our common task is to use documentary in the humanistic right direction without abandoning the creative and aesthetic component. And the festival's entry to the level of broad international influence in this context is very important."
Alexei Aleshkovsky, another member of the festival jury, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Filmmakers' Union and President of the Guild of Screenwriters, recalled that it was the festival “Won Together” that opened to the world (in addition to African directors) the film “At the Edge of the Abyss” by Maxim Fadeev and Sergei Belous. It was with the grand prize in this project that the triumphal march of the movie across the country began. Alexei Aleshkovsky expects new discoveries from the new season of the project and separately notes:
"The deepest meanings of any film, documentary inclusive, are the reflection of role models of behavior. In the 30 years since the Great Patriotic War, art has lost its catharsis. We lack images of heroes who win. We need to be reminded through art that no one wins alone, neither in movies nor in life".
The meeting was summarized by Valery Ruzin, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, President of the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, General Producer of the film festival “Won Together”:
"It is hard to overestimate the role of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly in the festival's fate, because it is thanks to the partnership with the Assembly that the project has grown into an effective platform for public diplomacy. In our competition and business programs (as well as in post-festival projects - the annual film marathon of the best films of the festival, educational film intensives) representatives of the countries not only meet, but also engage in dialogue, create joint projects, without which truly close ties between countries are impossible. The uniqueness of the festival lies in the fact that the organizers try to bring films to the widest possible audience, to develop a system of distribution everywhere in Russia, the CIS and friendly countries. Through the film marathon we achieve a colossal geography of screenings. We hold meetings with authors at universities and houses of culture throughout the country and beyond. Thanks to the festival and the marathon, a continuous titanic work is carried out to promote those films that create the right atmosphere in society and take on the function of historical education".
Applications for participation in the festival can be submitted until mid-September, but the organizers urge not to delay. The contest regulations and requirements to the works can be found on the website of the festival “Won Together”.