Dzerzhinsk to host Chernorechiyefest, Russia’s first open festival of national cinema.

30 january 2023

On February 22 through 26, Dzerzhinsk will host Chernorechiyefest, Russia’s first Open festival of national cinema. The festival will feature competitive screenings of contemporary full-length and short films, including the premiere of The Breath of the Dead Forest, a new film by celebrated director Evgeny Tatarov, master classes, concerts, talks by celebrities, theatrical performances, and “out-of-competition” screenings of films produced at Soyuzmultfilm studio, in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of Russia’s animation industry. Chernorechiyefest will be held as part of the Formula for Good Deeds, SIBUR's social investment program, with the involvement of the administrations of Nizhegorodskaya Oblast and the city of Dzerzhinsk.

The festival’s competition program includes films of various genres produced by both well-known directors and novice filmmakers, a total of eight full-length feature films and fourteen short films.

1. The Tundra’s White Angel, directed by Alexander Lukin, 70 min, 12+, 2022, Russia.

2. A Supplementary Lesson, directed by Anna Kurbatova, 97 min, 16+, 2022, Russia.
3. The Breath of the Dead Forest, directed by Evgeny Tatarov, 16+, 2023, Russia, first showing.

4. A Mint Gingerbread, directed by Andrey Karasov, 97 min, 12+, 2022, Russia.
5. On the Eve, directed by Alissa Yerokhina, 90 min, 18+, 2022.

6. One True Day, directed by Georgy Shengelia, 104 min, 16+, 2022, Russia.

7. No Crying Allowed, directed by Natalya Nazarova, 125 min, 12+, 2022, Russia.

8. The Deferred Happiness Syndrome, directed by Tatiana Kolganova, 102 min, 18+, 2022.

1. Aya, directed by Alyona Rubinshtein, 20 min. 20 sec, 2021
2. Anna, directed by Nikolay Kovalenko, 24 min., 2022, Russia

3. Dolphins in Outer Space, directed by Ruslan Yankovsky, 10 min, 2022, Russia

4. Trust, directed by Anastasia Denisova, 6 min. 33 sec, 2022, Russia

5. The Flip Side, directed by Yulia Kudoyar, 14 min, 2021, Russia

6. Medical Case History, directed by Mikhail Kukushkin, 24 min, 2022, Russia
7. Love, directed by Orkhan Abulov, 15 min, 2022, Russia

8. My God, directed by Daria Razumnikova, 13 min, 2021, Russia

9. New Mother, directed by Alexander Kuzovkov, 15 min, 2022, Russia

10.            Under the Eternal Blue Sky, directed by Elena Yemelyanova, 32 min., 2022, Russia

11.      Sorry, but I really need it, directed by Edijs Zalaks, 6 min. 16 sec, 2022, Russia/Latvia

12.     With Myself, directed by Nikita Sichka, 26 min., 2022, Russia

13. Rothschild’s Violin, directed by Maxim Sevrinovsky, 27 min, 2021, Russia

14. The Degree of Guilt, directed by Polina Kondratieva, 17 min, 2022, Russia

The jury of the full-length film competition will be headed by Vladimir Shevelkov, a film director, actor, and an Honored Worker of Arts of Russia. The jury will also include actress, artist, a People's Artist of Russia Valentina Telichkina, and director and actor Egor Salnikov. The jury of the short film competition will be chaired by actress and director Tatyana Kolganova. Working alongside director Pavel Moskvin and film critic Alexandra Ivanova, she will be judging the works submitted by the contest’s entrants.

The list of Chernorechiyefest’s guests will include famous filmmakers, theatrical and public figures, and musicians including such celebrities as Ludmila Khityaeva, People's Artist of Russia, a native of Nizhny Novgorod; Tatiana Piletskaya, People's Artist of Russia; Sergey Shakurov, People's Artist of Russia; Alexander Pankratov-Cherniy, People's Artist of Russia; Elena Valyushkina, Honored Artist of Russia; Natalia Varley, Honored Artist of Russia; Roman Madyanov, Honored Artist of Russia; singer Irina Shvedova; Honored Artist of Russia Oksana Stashenko, Nikolai Dobrynin, Honored Artist of Russia, singer Katya Semenova, actors Pavel Trubiner, Igor Skripko, Yelizaveta Arzamasova, Irina Lachina, Anastasia Denisova, Dmitry Kartashov, composer and singer Iv Nabiyev, singer Mikhail Golovushkin, singer Asker Berbekov, actress Alina Balakhonova, and singer Dmitry Ribeiro.

Although I was born in Gorky, I consider Dzerzhinsk to be my true home town, because my whole life is associated with this city. Later, after I met Sergey Novozhilov and became immersed in the film festival movement, I started wondering why is it that film festivals seem to be held everywhere but in Dzerzhinsk. That's how I came up with this idea. The name that we picked for the film festival was, too, connected with the history of this area, both beautiful and easy to remember. We are still at a preparatory stage, working together with our program director Alexandra Zhukova on selecting short and full-length films for the competition program, interacting with the festival’s venues and with actors. We also hope to involve more of Dzerzhinsk’s own residents, along with the residents of Nizhniy Novgorod and guests from other cities and regions, actor Sergey Balashov, the director of the film festival, noted.

The festival will additionally feature celebrity actors and recognized industry professionals giving master-classes on camerawork, acting, body movement, vocal control, and animation. The list of speakers includes Andrei Mezhulis, Honored Artist of Russia; Elena Borzova, Honored Artist of Russia; cinematographer Maria Solovieva whose filmography includes more than 40 films including collaborations with Andrei Konchalovsky and Natalia Bondarchuk; Vakhtang Khurtsilava, participant of TV’s Dance project; animation director Daria Lukyanova.

I really got to know Dzerzhinsk very closely last year. In many people’s minds this city is associated with the manufacturing industry, but I can say with absolute certainty that the stage for such an event as this All-Russian Film Festival has been well set here. Besides, the end of February is a very good time: we won't be overlapping with the other film festivals, and the audience will be able to visit all the events just on the weekends and during the holidays. Our task is to make this into a really popular film festival that both adults and children will find fascinating so that we can immerse them into the wonderful world of cinema and theater and, of course, make it useful. That's why the program includes master-classes for children and adults alike, says Sergey Novozhilov, producer, the President of the Chernorechiyefest film festival. I would like to thank Dzerzhinsk’s city administration, head of the city’s administration Ivan Noskov, and all our partners for their kind support.

In addition to the film screenings and master classes, the audience will be able to attend celebrity talks by People's Artist of Russia Irina Muravyeva, People's Artist of Russia Dmitry Kharatyan, and Honored Artist of Russia Nonna Grishayeva.

Celebrity actors will also perform in the festival’s several theatrical shows including Don Juan, Everyone’s idea of happiness is unique, The night of her revelations, an immersive performance of And how do you do?, a play based on two comedies by Anton Chekhov, a chamber performance of Follies (directed by Sergey Sotnikov), one-man shows by Andrei Mezhulis and Alena Bikkulova, dedicated to Alexander Vertinsky and Anna Herman.

By fostering development of our cultural scene, we help create a comfortable urban environment and improve the quality of life of local residents. In Kstovo and in Dzerzhinsk, SIBUR has been implementing its theater- and cinema-related projects on a regular basis. Chernorechiyefest’s extensive program will give everyone an opportunity to discover new young talents of the national cinema, find something to their liking, and get filled with fresh emotions, Yulia Lazareva, Advisor to the General Director of Sibur-Neftekhim JSC, noted.